Eternal Sleep
by Hiro Chiba
Summary: Saffron casts a spell on Ranma when they reach a stalemate in the final battle. Saffron dies, and Ranma falls into a deep sleep. Akane and the gang must work together to reawaken him before it's too late. Also, he's locked in his cursed form. Complete!
1. Eternal Deep Sleep

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

**Chapter 1:** An Eternal Deep Sleep

'_Flying…'_

"Ranma…"

_ 'My body feels like it's growing heavier…'_

"Ranma!"

_ 'Why do I feel like I'm moving fast, but the world seems to move slowly around me?'_

_ 'How did I get here?'_

**"Ranma!" **

The voice seemed to pierce through her foggy mind. She looked down, and saw the one thing she could not bear to leave behind, Akane Tendo. Her name was Ranma Saotome, and she is the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and she was actually a 'he.' Currently, she's stuck as is, but she was feeling too tired and heavy to even care.

Time seemed to go by slowly, and Ranma barely registered the fact that she was free falling. How did she get there?

'Right, now I remember…'

-**Flashback**-

Ranma was standing on one side of Jusendo Valley, facing the leader of the Phoenix tribe, Saffron, on the other. 'He' was currently locked in his cursed form, but 'he' was still good enough to hold Saffron back. The battle had been waging for the longest time, and neither would give up at this point.

Both fighters locked eyes with each other. Their battle auras erupted from within their weakened cores. Their energies locked with each other, and intertwined into a brightly colored twister.

Before they knew it, time stood still for them and they leapt off the ledges to launch their final blows. Ranma prepared a powerful aura punch, but Saffron, however, had other plans at the moment. His hand glowed with an energy that Ranma wasn't familiar with. In fact, it was the first time she saw such energy in a ball of ki. What is that? It can't be ki!

When the two met, Ranma released the aura punch, but that gave the opportunity for Saffron to move out of the way slightly. Then something interesting happened; Saffron reached Ranma, and stopped his arm before Ranma's chest. Saffron released whatever energy he held, and both fighters were immersed in its light.

Before Ranma could react, however, Saffron kicked Ranma square in the chest, and sent her traveling a good five hundred meters in the opposite direction (A/N: Think of Sora from Kingdom Hearts when he flew through the sky backwards.), and afterwards, Saffron fell into the ravine below.

Ranma struggled with trying to disperse whatever spell Saffron placed on her, but she found it extremely hard. Not only was she falling fast, but she was also getting weaker the longer she spent trying to fight it. Before he knew it, his memory faded fast, and his vision started blacking out.

'_What is this? It feels like I'm getting weaker, and really tired for some reason…I didn't fatigue that fast, did I?'_

-**End of Flashback**-

'_Flying like this, it almost feels comforting…'_

'_I feel like anything is possible, and I just wanna keep going like this forever…'_

_'Almost as if I'm…falling into a dream…a big dream…'_

"Ranma!"

That snapped her thoughts back to reality, she turned her head toward the speaker, and there she was, Akane and company. They were practically racing toward her flying form, desperate to catch her before she crashed into something.

'_She's still alive…thank goodness.'_

Ranma could no longer fight it, and she fought her growing fatigue until the very end, it was a valiant effort. That was when she closed her eyes, and let gravity take effect. The darkness claimed her whole, and she fell into it, never to get back into the light.

"Ranma!" they all shouted at the same time.

Ryoga and Mousse were the fastest ones, and they launched themselves out to the redheaded pigtailed girl flying at them. They didn't know that if someone flies at 35 mph for five hundred meters toward you, you could get killed, but not these two, they didn't even know the first meaning of the phrase 'too painful, even in death'.

They caught Ranma's limp form, and slid a few meters backwards because she flew from a great height and distance. When they finally stopped, they lowered Ranma's body to the ground. Everyone was so relieved to see Ranma back alive, but they failed to notice her lack of response for few minutes.

"Hey, we were so worried about you, idiot! What were you thinking, going to Saffron by yourself?" Ukyo was the first to lecture her.

No response.

"Boy, you had us worried, but we're glad you're safe from harm!" Genma exclaimed, and he embraced Soun Tendo, his companion. No response again.

"I hate you for making us worry! Especially Akane!" Ryoga exclaimed. Nothing.

"You dare make Shampoo worry! You bastard!" Mousse accused, talking to a boulder instead of Ranma. Still, she made no response.

"Ah! Airen safe! Shampoo very worried!" Shampoo commented. Nothing again.

"Alright, Ranma, are you just gonna lay there! Wake up for Perry's sake! You have some nerve to…" Akane started.

"Wait!" Cologne interrupted. "Something strange is going on. Look, don't you all find it strange that Ranma was flying backwards at that speed?"

"So what? Maybe he decided to make a flashy entrance? Although, the flying backwards part was a bit much." Akane suggested.

Cologne pressed a hand to Ranma's forehead, and closed her unusually big eyes to concentrate. Strange, there are traces of her energy, but there's something else…Cologne thought. Just then, Cologne's eyes snapped open in shock! Could it be!

"The 'thousand year phoenix chi' has left its mark around Ranma's body!" Cologne shouted out. "And, this spell…it's 'that' spell!"

"Hey! Do you mind explaining all this! Why did you say 'thousand year phoenix chi'?" Akane asked.

"I have not seen, nor felt such energy before, but I definitely know it's that very same chi and spell." Cologne observed.

"You keep saying 'that spell', but what is 'the spell'?" Akane growled.

"The 'Eternal Sleep' spell…" Cologne nearly whispered it out, as if the words held venom in it.

"Eternal Sleep spell?" Everyone repeated.

"Must I always explain these things to you people? The name says it all. Eternal Sleep means eternal sleep." Cologne sighed.

"Let me simplify it; the 'Eternal Sleep' spell is a strong spell that sends its victim into a state of eternal slumber. Simply put, the victim falls into a deep sleep that he or she cannot reawaken from…until the Spellcaster releases it. Ranma has fallen victim to this spell. It's true horrors have not been revealed until now."

"Oh! You mean the spell is like Snow White? Or Sleeping Beauty?" Akane suggested.

"Yes, like Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty." Cologne confirmed.

"Then, that means you have to kiss Ranma to wake him up, right?" Ryoga asked.

"Then we will not offer anyone to kiss him, then." Mousse said, shuddering at the thought of Shampoo (and Akane) kissing their hated rival!

"Except that kissing is not a necessity. This is where it gets complicated, when you place the 'Eternal Sleep' spell upon a victim, they fall into a state of deep sleep, possibly for eternity, but that's where the caster comes in. The caster is the only one who can revive the victim. I think this is the work of Saffron!" Cologne explained, cue dramatic lightning effect.

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's find Saffron and make him undo the spell!" Akane said.

"That is impossible." Cologne said.

"Why not?" they all asked at the exact same time.

"Ranma needs to be woken up as fast as possible! He cannot be sleeping when he marries Akane and inherits the dojo!" Genma exclaimed, Soun nodded in agreement.

"There's a problem, however. Saffron is no longer alive." Cologne said. "I sensed his energy disappearing. His energy is almost as vast as Ranma's, and I sensed it dissipating, meaning his passing."

"If he's dead, then what are we going to do about it?" Genma asked.

"I have an idea. Ryoga, Mousse, take Ranma with you. We need regroup, and meet elsewhere. There is something I must tell you." Cologne announced.

"But, why can't we do it here?" Ryoga asked.

"Do you honestly like the idea of staying in total darkness as we discuss Ranma's circumstances?"

Ryoga stared at the dimming sky, and understood what Cologne was trying to get at. He looked back at her, realization in his eyes. They could never get things done in the dark, and if someone were to spy on you, you'd never hear the end of it. It's as they say, 'it's better to be safe than sorry.'

"Uh, no." Ryoga answered.

… … …

Cologne picked a cabin that had been previously used somewhere in the mountains to discuss their predicament. They huddled around in a circle, waiting for Cologne to start explaining things.

"First or all, it is a matter of who cast the spell. Saffron cast this spell, but it has a unique energy signature. It certainly is not energy that humans can use. It reeks of ancient phoenix chi, and by the looks of it, Saffron probably had to use what was left of his energy to do it!" Cologne explained.

"But, the question is, what are we going to do?" Akane asked.

"Under normal circumstances, we can find the Spellcaster and demand him to waken Ranma, but Saffron used a strange energy, and now that he's dead, we can only search for a powerful cure." Cologne answered.

"Do we have any leads at all?" Ukyo asked.

"Yes, legend states that The Temple of Origins' power can reawaken the eternal sleeper. The power hidden in its walls can nullify the energy around Ranma, and wake him up." Cologne speculated.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ukyo decided.

"Hold on. I said it was only a legend." Cologne said.

Ukyo hung her head low, ashamed at believing in something that might reawaken Ranma, if it exists.

"However, we have evidence that states otherwise. There is a path to the Temple of Origins, and no one has set foot in it since it was first built. I thought it to be legend only, but the altar of that temple still remains."

"Where?"

"In the Middle Kingdom of China. I know that it was said to have been built there." Cologne answered.

They were relieved to hear that there was hope for Ranma still. They only learned about the spell now, but things are about to take a drastic change for the worse. Cologne was the one that had to change things for them.

"However, if we do not find the temple, and reawaken him on time, then he will surely die." Cologne warned, pointing to Ranma's still form. "He has, at the most, a week-and-a-half before he 'croaks'. Better make your peace in that time."

_'Gasp!_'

… … …

A/N: Hey everyone! Merry Christmas! I decided to start another story for Ranma in order to boost my ratings. Also, I do not own any reference to Kingdom Hearts, if I happen to mention it in here! So, here's my gift to you, a new story! Hope you guys enjoy it! I will post more chapters soon enough! So please rate, comment, and review! Thanks!


	2. Getting a Move On

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

**Chapter 2: **Getting a Move On

-Dreamscape-

_'Dark…'_

_ 'It's dark here…'_

_ 'But I don't want to leave this place…'_

_ 'I can rest easy in the darkness…'_

_ 'No more worries…anxieties...' _

… … …

-The Next Day-

"Alright, Cologne, tell us where to go." Ukyo demanded early the next morning.

"Yeah, great-grandmother, tell Shampoo to go." Shampoo agreed.

"Hold on, child, we still don't know where to go. I have to map out the proper route, otherwise we'll wind up lost, and we have to be sure of where to go, or Ranma will surely be lost to us even if we manage to find the Temple of Origins." Cologne said, contemplating over a map of China, and marking possible routes.

Cologne traced a certain line from their position to another place on the map. Her eyes widened, and she marked similar paths. She was so caught up in her work that the others were getting restless just waiting for her to finish. It's understandable, isn't it?

"It's finished." She said simply, and capped the marker she used.

"Finally!" they exclaimed altogether.

"Alright, let's go!" Ukyo declared.

"Wait!" Cologne stopped her. "We can't be sure of the road ahead, it may be dangerous, yet we can't afford to keep waiting, so I picked a safe, but fast route to the Temple of Origins. I am unsure of its exact location, but I know for sure that it's there."

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry!" Akane exclaimed. "You said it yourself; if Ranma isn't there in a week-and-a-half or so, he'll die!"

"I want everyone who is going to gather around me, and we'll decide your jobs as we go to our destination." Cologne ordered.

"Naturally, I'll go. Since I'm Ranma's closest friend and fiancée, I'll volunteer." Ukyo proclaimed, and strapped her giant spatula to her back, prepared to leave when ready.

"Shampoo will go! Airen is sleep, Shampoo wake up!" She exclaimed, and cracked her knuckles while she was at it.

"Well, if Shampoo's going, naturally I'll be there for support!" Mousse declared, and pushed his useless glasses onto his face.

"I'm going too!" Akane declared.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes averted toward her direction, surprised at her decision.

"Yes! That's my girl! It's Akane's job as Ranma's fiancée to be there for him when he most needs it!" Soun cheered, and hugged his companion, Genma, crying tears of joy.

"I'm just going there because it's a martial artist's duty to help the defenseless! I don't want Ranma's death to be on my conscience later on, that's all!" Akane protested. '_It's not like I have any feelings for him 'that' way, right?'_

"How about you, Ryoga?" Akane asked.

Ryoga looked into Akane's eyes dreamily, then he realized something. In her eyes, she would never see him the same way he saw her right now. Right now, he could never follow her, if he did, that would mean helping his most hated rival.

He took a quick glance toward Ranma who was looking half-dead right now. He could barely take the girl's condition into mind; it looked almost sickening. He did not want to be strapped with Ranma when he, or she, woke up!

Ryoga looked back at Akane, but she was giving him the 'look', the one thing he hated seeing in most women. He, like Ranma, was a sucker for the 'look'. When pitted against a foe that could utilize the 'look', his heart almost melted in anguish. A big part of him wanted to help Akane, he really did, but the lesser part wanted to disregard her, for fear of indirectly helping Ranma in the making. _'Why is it so hard to decide?'_

"So, Ryoga?" Akane insisted, adding more to the 'look', making her look twice as pitiful. _'Could Ryoga refuse if I do this? He wouldn't.'_

Ryoga sighed, and averted his attention to the side of Akane, refusing to even look at her face. He clenched his fists and teeth, afraid to make a decision.

He opened his mouth, and said: "Akane, I…I'm sorry!" Ryoga shouted, and dashed out of the cabin, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

"That jerk! How could he leave at a time like this?" Ukyo commented, raising an eyebrow at his rapidly disappearing form.

_'Ah, who needs him anyway? I'm still here, right?' _Mousse thought.

"I would go, but I think you youngsters would be fine on your own." Genma stated, and fixed his glasses back onto his nose bridge. "I mean, someone's gotta be here to welcome Ranma back, and after that, Akane and Ranma can get married just like we planned!" He exclaimed, and pulled a fan out to emphasize his meaning.

"Don't sell yourself short." Cologne warned. "I warn you that I am the one who will wake him up, but after that I will be demanding a price for him to pay."

_'There's no way I can deny her that. After all, if I get her to help, I could probably trick her afterward, and proceed with the wedding as planned! It's full-proof!' _Genma thought. "Good luck, then!"

"Now that that's been settled...I have decided that Mousse will be carrying Ranma." Cologne assigned him.

"What! Why would I do something like that?" Mousse complained. "Besides, are you sure you should let ME carry him?"

"I originally had the plan of having Ryoga carry Ranma, or switching with you from time to time, but now that he's gone, you're the only capable one left. I trust Ranma's life in your hands, but if you so much as give him a scratch, I'll skin you alive the next time you find yourself in duck form, sonny!" Cologne said.

"Besides, Mousse, Shampoo need strong man to carry Airen." Shampoo said seductively.

"For you, I would do anything!" Mousse quickly changed his mind, seized Ranma and carried her bridal style. "Let's go!"

"Not like that, Mousse!" Shampoo exclaimed, and slapped him upside the head.

Mousse changed positions, and carried Ranma piggyback style.

"Now, stop dillydallying, let's get a move on!" Cologne called back from outside the cabin.

Now hurrying, Ukyo, Shampoo, Akane, and Mousse followed suit after Cologne.

… … …

-Noon-

The road going downhill was almost torturing for Mousse. He was sweating from exhaustion, and had gone more than three hours carrying Ranma on his back. Now that it was high noon, his shoulders were starting to feel the burden of Ranma's dead weight. While the others were at least thirty meters ahead of him, he could barely make out their figures from even that position. _'Why did I agree to this? Curses!'_

The road finally divided into a fork and the others took the left hand path, while Mousse, as blind as he was, took the right hand path, which was filled with man-made animal traps. He stumbled upon all of them, walking right into them when he could have dodged them easily, but taking his blindness into account, he walked right into them like the blind man he was.

As he suffered the full blunt of each and every trap he walked into, Ranma's body was also taking the trap's effects, (thank goodness he was out of it). Mousse intended to walk around an obvious hole trap, but ended up triggering a rope trap that was a few inches away from the dirt covered hole trap, and the rope caught his foot and held him upside down, (A/N: Think of Naruto when he triggered Kakashi's obvious rope trap and hung upside down from it.)

Ranma tumbled from his shoulders and landed headfirst in the dirt covered hole trap (Ouch! That's gotta hurt! But, thankfully she was in a deep sleep, right?) Mousse did not lose hope, and instead of feeling sorry for himself, he took a kunai knife from out of his pockets, and cut the rope that held him in that embarrassing position. He jumped into the hole, and pulled Ranma out of it.

He kept going down the trap-covered path, even though the rest of the team was long past, and he had gone too deep into the wrong path. But, to him, he was determined to follow the path no matter what lay ahead, for he knew (or thought he knew) that Shampoo and the others would naturally avoid those traps, leaving him behind to take the punishment. But, if they were too far ahead, then why did they leave him behind to suffer with Ranma? Did they think it was a waste of time? Is Ranma really not as important as they say he is? Oh, happy day! Shampoo, I'm coming too!

While he was distracted with his thoughts, he triggered a bunch of arrow and throwing projectile traps, but he avoided all of them by walking briskly by them by narrow inches, not knowing that there were traps at all. Sometimes Mousse can be a master of dodging anything when he's not paying attention to the attacks at all, but at other times, he's just like everyone else, but blind.

Unaware of what he was doing, the smell of a cooking fire lay ahead of him. Even though he was blind, his sense of smell wasn't a hindrance. He followed his nose, avoiding any trap that lay in his path, unconsciously.

_'What is that smell? It smells good! Come to think of it, I didn't eat lunch yet. Maybe I should ask whoever's cooking to give me a quick bite to eat, and then I can go back to catching up to Shampoo!' _he thought.

He followed the trail of smoke for a few minutes, and quickly found a figure he thought he would never come across for a while. He thought he was long gone, but he's here, cooking food on this forsaken path. But, who is he?

There, P-chan (Ryoga's alias when he's in his cursed Jusenkyo form) was sitting by the fire boiling a teakettle over a small cooking fire. He was easily distinguishable because for one, he was a small black piglet, he had big, round eyes, and he had that yellow-and-black striped bandana around his neck like a neckerchief.

P-chan turned toward the rustling, and his eyes widened at the sight of Mousse and Ranma standing by the bushes. _'What are they doing here? I thought they would be going to the Temple of Origins, or something, but what are they doing? I thought maybe I was avoiding the right directions, but maybe I came here by chance! Curse this directional curse of mine!' _P-chan thought.

Mousse concentrated a little on focusing on P-chan, and he even had to push his glasses back onto his face to see, but he took it off to clean it and put it back on to do it. Little by little, P-chan's figure became slightly clearer, and when he could make out the yellow-and-black striped neckerchief.

_Gasp! _

"Ryoga! What are you doing here?"

… … …

A/N: I thought I would update sooner than expected. I would tell you guys that I will be frequently updating this story because I just want to get it over and done with as soon as possible! I'll probably be seen updating this story every other day or so. So, don't be surprised if I update at these times. Please rate, comment, and review, and I will see you soon!


	3. Meeting With the Monk

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

**Chapter 3: **Meeting With the Monk

Mousse tried fixating his glasses back into his nose bridge to clear his already bad vision. He thought his eyes were deceiving him, but here it was. He tried pinching himself to see if the figure before him would dissipate into thin air, but he didn't.

"Ryoga? Is that you?" Mousse asked, stooping down to P-chan's eye level. The pig stared back.

"Have you seen Shampoo and the others go by here?" Mousse asked. The pig shook his head, no.

"No, huh?" Mousse sighed, "Do you know where they went?"

The pig picked up a sign from out of nowhere and held it up in the same manner that Genma did in panda form. The sign read: 'I have no idea where I am, stupid! How do you expect me to know where they are?'

"Oh, so you mastered the sign trick I see." Mousse read, and commented. "Even I have never completely mastered the art of sign making in my duck form. Very good, Ryoga! Now change back and tell me properly before I cook you with that kettle. I'm very hungry, you see, and if I don't find food soon, I may have no choice but to cook you."

Mousse made it sound threatening enough, and P-chan had no doubt in his mind that Mousse could do that if he chose to. He went into a panic, and checked on the steaming kettle. It was almost done, just three more minutes left.

P-chan wrote a new message on the sign, and showed it to Mousse. It read: 'I need three more minutes! Please wait a little while!'

"No problem, but three minutes is all I'm gonna give you." Mousse responded.

P-chan flipped the sign, and a new message was written in the place of the previous by using his ki to rearrange the letters (so that's how Genma-panda managed to do it?). It read: 'can you also get my clothes! I think I left them…close by here.'

"Okay." Mousse answered, and set Ranma down next to P-chan. He quickly set to work on getting Ryoga's clothes together.  
Yellow long-sleeve; check, dark green pants; check, socks; check, flats; check. Yup, everything's here! Mousse gathered the clothes and walked back to the fire's circle. He wrapped the clothes around P-chan's body, and poured the kettle over him. In an instant, P-chan's form began to get bigger and longer. His limbs filled his shirt, his pants, and everything. Now, P-chan was gone, here, Ryoga stood in his place.

"Now that you're back to normal, I could really use a bite to eat!" Mousse exclaimed, and got his hunting utensils out. "Care to join me?"

Just then, Ryoga's stomach growled. "Yeah, let's go." Ryoga said, embarrassed.

"What about Ranma?" he asked.

Ranma lay next to the fire, and looked okay to them.

"He'll be okay. We'll leave, catch lunch, come back, and eat. That's all there is to it." Mousse explained, and got Ryoga to follow him to where some wild ducks were.

… … …

Later, Mousse and Ryoga walked back to the fire's circle. Mousse was carrying his catch, duck. Ryoga was disgusted with Mousse's choice in food. _'How can he just eat his own brethren like that! That would be like eating myself! If I saw pigs around, I wouldn't hunt them down and eat them! That's BEYOND wrong!' _he thought.

When they returned to the circle, sitting beside Ranma's body (which had been placed inside a futon) was a monk. He, unlike all monks, had his head half-shaven, and he sprout a long braid going down his back. It didn't take an expert to tell that this monk meant business, if anyone was dumb enough to challenge him. He carried his _Shakujou _(A/N: The staff they use for exorcising purposes) in his left hand, and a stick in the other.

He was poking the fire, which had some fish being fried over the fire. He turned his head slightly, and caught sight of Mousse and Ryoga. He gave them an immediate smile, and returned to what he was doing, but still wearing a smile.

"Greetings, young travelers!" the monk greeted in a cheerful voice, not even bothering to give them a second look, but still retaining that smile. "I'll be done in but a moment."

Ryoga stiffened, and glared at the monk sitting by the fire. He didn't like this monk one bit. He may look like one who might welcome you warmly, but his aura told otherwise. His aura was filled with malice in it. Ryoga, who was experienced with seeing and differing people's personality by their auras, immediately saw the monk was not what he appeared to be.

"What are you doing?" Ryoga asked in a hostile tone. His eyes did not falter, and he held his glare for a good minute-and-a-half. "Who are you?"

"Me? I am but a traveling monk seeking enlightenment who happened to come across a fire blazing brightly, and I seemed to be in the mood for cooking lunch. I take it that I saw your girlfriend sleeping so soundly, that I placed her in a more comfortable position to make it better. Here I was thinking that whoever was with her at the time would not be coming back anytime soon, so I thought now would be a good a time as any. But, it appears that I have intruded. Sorry." The monk explained.

Mousse didn't like the tone that the monk used with them. It was false. Even though Mousse was as blind as they get, he still had the heightened senses of a warrior, not just a martial artist. He sensed something weird from this monk, and quickly distrust him, but he didn't let it show.

"Look, we don't care what you do right now. We want you to hurry up so we can cook our lunch!" Mousse said in an equally hostile manner, but faced the bush instead of the monk. Sweat drop.

"Um, look the bush isn't the one cooking, you did know that, right?" the monk said, pointing out the obvious.

"Don't mind the blind idiot." Ryoga said, justifying his statement. "We want to know why you're here. There's no way a 'simple' monk would just waltz here and use somebody else's cooking fire. That sounds strange, don't you think?"

"What do you mean, young man?" the monk asked, now looking at Ryoga with fake ignorance.

"He means, no monk would just go through here without facing those traps! How did you make it this far anyway?" Mousse asked, still talking to the bush, but referring to the monk.

"I used my powers. It's as simple as that." The monk answered.

"Monks may have the power to exorcise monsters and spirits, but they don't have the power to avoid dangerous animal traps. There must be something else you're not telling us." Ryoga suspected.

"Yes. That is correct. The ordinary monk only has the power to exorcise beings of evil, but I have special training. Unlike most monks, I have trained in various forms of martial arts that not even martial artists of today would ever dream of training in."

"Somehow, I believe that." Ryoga said.

"Anyway, enough about me. Why don't you sit down with me, and eat. Perhaps we can talk like civilized men, can't we?" the monk suggested. They took no further hints, and sat beside the monk.

Mousse roasted his ducks over the open fire. Despite his eagerness to find food as fast as possible, like the duck, he felt a twinge of guilt for killing off his brethren, but you just have to do what you have to survive. Ryoga would do it if he had no choice, right?

"So, tell me who you are. I am curious as to how you got this far, and also, tell me about the girl." The monk said, and darkened his tone as he said 'the girl'.

"Why would we…" Mousse began, but Ryoga stopped him.

"Mousse, let's just play along with him. If we make it obvious that we don't notice his dark aura, we won't have to fight him unless he makes the first move. Let's answer as best we can now." Ryoga whispered. Mousse nodded.

"What was that?" the monk asked.

"Nothing! Just a small man-to-man talk! Nothing you should worry yourself over! Now, where were we?" Ryoga spurted out.

"We were just discussing who we are. You were about to introduce yourselves." The monk said.

"Right. Well, my name is Ryoga Hibiki, age 16, and wandering martial artist." Ryoga introduced himself, and pointed to Mousse to begin his introduction.

"Oh, my name is Mu Tzu, age 16, and former Amazon, now traveling with said martial artist." Mousse said.

"Oh, former Amazon? Why?" the monk asked.

"Uh…I don't know if I should talk about that. Let's just say circumstances got me thinking about abandoning the tribe." Mousse said.

"But, I heard that Amazons never let anyone abandon their tribe. If there are any, they would always hunt them down and destroy evidence that say they were ever apart of the Amazon people." The Monk said.

"Right, but I got special permission to leave the village. They seem to have revoked that law." Mousse said.

"Anyways, enough about us. Introduce yourself, monk." Ryoga said.

"Right, but aren't you going to introduce your rather cold-skinned girlfriend?" the monk said, referring to Ranma.

"But, he's not our girlfriend! He's our…" Mousse started.

"Let it go, Mousse. Let's not mention 'that' to him. It'll only get more suspicious." Ryoga stopped him yet again, and whispered.

"You said 'he'? Clearly it's a 'she', am I not correct?" the monk asked.

"Right, sorry about my blind friend! He's sometimes mistaking girls for guys, and vice-versa, you know all that! Now, tell us who you are." Ryoga insisted.

"But, what about her?" the monk persisted.

"Fine, we'll introduce her. Her name is Ranm…Ranko Saotome, also 16, and now she's in a 'very' deep sleep. We introduced her, now tell us your name." Ryoga said.

"Very well. My name is Monk Amatsu, I will let you guess my age, and as I have told you, I am a monk in search of enlightenment." Amatsu said.

"Monk Amatsu, what are you doing here? It could get dangerous here. Surely, there's gotta be a better place to travel than through this hellhole." Ryoga said.

"Yes, there may be a better place, but this 'hellhole' is all apart of my training." Monk Amatsu said.

"Training? To do what?" Ryoga asked.

"I will become the greatest spiritual man alive, and I will go above and beyond to become even Buddha himself." Monk Amatsu said with a dark tone.

"But, becoming like Buddha is impossible! You'd have to go through hell a hundred times over and still come back alive to tell about it! The level of nirvana it takes is out of even this world!" Mousse stated rather loudly.

"If that is the price I must pay to become a Buddha, I will gladly go through whatever may get me to achieve that goal. It may seem impossible to you, but the secret training I go through will see to it that I become Buddha." Monk Amatsu said.

"Where are you going now?" Ryoga asked.

"My final destination is the Temple of Origins." Monk Amatsu explained.

"Really? Because, that's where we're going too!" Ryoga exclaimed.

"Oh, are you aiming to become spiritual people?" Monk Amatsu asked.

"No, but we're looking for a way to cure our 'friend' of a curse she has, and the only way we know of is to go to the Temple of Origins, but I think we got lost on the way there." Mousse said.

"Well, one thing is for sure. The Temple of Origins will never be found on a map. The mystery is that it appears to those who seek its power for the greater good. To be perfectly honest, I have searched for it for at least eight years, never coming upon its glorious presence in that time. But this time, I sense that it is close." He explained.

"If it can't be found on a map, then why'd we even bother with one in the first place?" Ryoga asked.

"People think they know where it is, but its exact location is hidden to most mortals. It has not been seen for more than one millennia ago, so it's impossible to track it down by ordinary means such as a map, or a compass." Monk Amatsu.

"If it hasn't been seen in a thousand years, then how are you going to find it? You said you have only been trying to find it for more than eight years. The way you're making it, I'd say it could take at least a thousand lifetimes to find this temple." Ryoga said.

"Ryoga, we don't have a thousand lifetimes to find a temple! Ranm…I mean Ranko needs to be there as soon as possible!" Mousse reminded him.

"What do you mean 'as soon as possible'?" Amatsu asked.

"Well, you see, our friend has fallen under a curse, a sleeping curse to be exact, and if we don't find a way to wake her up within a week, or so, she'll die." Mousse explained.

_'Which I don't want to be apart of!' _Ryoga thought.

"I know a way to find a cure faster than just finding the Temple of Origins. I have a book on how to remove certain curses, and I think I can help your friend. But, the only price you have to pay is to help me in my quest." Amatsu suggested.

"What makes you think we can trust Ranma…I mean Ranko to you?" Ryoga asked.

"Simple! I am a monk!" Amatsu stated in a dramatic sort of way.

"If you can do it, then do it now!" Mousse demanded.

"Nuh uh! First, we must eat, then I'll cure your friend." Monk Amatsu said.

They ate, and then continued to how they were before. Amatsu took out a small leather-bound book, and stood over Ranma's body. He drew a magic circle around Ranma with strange looking runes. He drew a total of twenty-seven runes inside the circle, and connected them with a pentagram. If they didn't know any better they could have sworn a sorcerer had drawn the circle. It certainly had an ancient European style to it. This Monk must've had training in sorcery.

Amatsu stood over Ranma, and stretched his right arm out, parallel to Ranma's stomach. He closed his eyes, and began moving his open palm over Ranma's body.

"Strange? It seems that there is an ancient chi covering her body. Has something happened? Who placed the curse on Ranko?" Amatsu asked, pausing his ritual.

"Well, she was cursed by a phoenix demigod." Ryoga said.

"Ah, the phoenix gods. They are indeed powerful. This will take a little longer than I thought, so I'll begin the ritual." Monk Amatsu said, and moved his open palm above Ranma's abdomen yet again, and he closed his eyes to concentrate.

He started chanting something in some bizarre, yet ancient language. This whole process of chanting took a total of fifteen minutes. Ryoga and Mousse were observing very carefully, trying to see if anything suspicious happened, so far, the monk showed no sign of suspicious activity. Just then, his malicious aura changed from dark to bright orange. That looked like the color of a fight.

Amatsu was definitely trying to fight off Ranma's curse. Apparently, the monk was being pushed back. From the looks of it, his forehead was dripping sweat, and that meant that he had to exert a bit of force into it. Even though they could not understand the clearly ancient tongue, they could tell a miracle had to happen if Ranma was ever going to wake up.

Finally, a giant aura surrounded Ranma, and completely enclosed him in it. From the look on Amatsu's face, it looked like he had messed up big time! He stumbled backward and landed with a thud on his butt. He stared, wide-eyed at the aura. It was purely colored yellow. No aura could ever be purely one solid color! Especially a primary color! This girl was clearly a case. Either that, or the chi that was preventing Ranma from waking up was the phoenix god's chi.

Ryoga and Mousse shuddered from the heat of the aura. Unlike all auras, this one could physically touched, and you could literally shocked from it! How was this aura so different? As the aura peaked, it began to change shape. (Auras usually flare around in an unstable form, but it doesn't change into any shape, if this could be called 'usually'.) The aura hovered over Ranma, and changed into the shape of a bird, or more specifically, a phoenix.

"How can this be? This girl has such power! I have never witnessed such an array before! More than that, the aura has changed shape! A phoenix! This is incredible!" Amatsu exclaimed.

Amatsu turned toward Ryoga and Mousse, and he leaped for joy, completely ignoring their accusatory glares. _'This girl may become useful to me!'_

"What are you so happy about, monk? I thought the whole point of doing this was to wake her up, not give us a light show!" Ryoga accused.

"Oh, yes, the curse. Well, the curse is strong, and yet I have never come across such a powerful curse together with a powerful person! Now, we have two in one!" Amatsu exclaimed, clearly excited.

"We need her awake! If not, she's as good as dead!" Ryoga shouted above Amatsu's glee.

"Right, that can become a problem. I say we find the Temple of Origins, and rework the ritual there." Amatsu suggested.

"That was the original plan! Do you have any idea how long it'll take us to get there on time! We need the cure now!" Ryoga shouted.

"Well, fear not! I will guide you there, and perform the spell for you again!" Amatsu shouted. "But first, you need to tell me everything. Just to be on the same ground here, we need to know each other well!"

"We don't exactly trust you. How do we know you won't trick us for your own personal gain?" Mousse put in.

"Whether you trust me or not, you're stuck with me until we find a way out." Amatsu pointed out.

"True." Ryoga said, and Mousse nodded in agreement.

"Now tell me what has happened up until now. I want the story started from the beginning, no secrets or anything left out. I want to know as much as I can." Amatsu initiated. "Sit. We have much to discuss."

"Fine." Ryoga said, and proceeded to sit down as indicated.

"Hey, should we really be doing this?" Mousse whispered to Ryoga.

"We might as well. This guy makes it pretty clear that he knows the way. Besides, with my sense of direction, and your blindness, we're pretty much done for." Ryoga reminded him.

"Okay. So, you start the story." Mousse said, and sat next to Ryoga.

"So, it all started about as far as three years ago…" Ryoga began telling the story.

… … …

A/N: Whew! That was definitely my longest chapter so far! Hey guys! Happy New Year! I hope this chapter finds you all well, and that I am doing this just for you! I hope you like it! Please rate, comment, review, and so on! I will probably see you all after the New Years! See you later!


	4. Where are they now?

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

**Chapter 4: **Where Are They Now?

Akane, Shampoo, Ukyo, and Cologne had traveled down the left path for sometime now, and none had bothered to look back to make sure that everyone was there. Cologne was pogo sticking away in the front, followed by Ukyo and Akane, Shampoo was last, and even she didn't want to worry. They were purposefully avoiding having to look back at Mousse, whom they thought could handle himself well enough. After all, he couldn't have been that bad, his eyes weren't totally blind; sadly, they were mistaken.

It was nearing dark now, and they decided to set up camp. Cologne started up a cooking fire, Shampoo and Ukyo set up the tents and the supplies while Akane went to fetch some firewood. All that was left was Mousse. Wait! Where the devil is that boy? Cologne was hard at work on the cooking fire, and chose now to see where Mousse had gone to, and immediately assumed that he went hunting for food, but where was Ranma? He should have laid Ranma down first before hunting! Or was he so stupid that he accidentally took Ranma with him?

When they assembled for the first time in ages, Cologne counted and named them off. Akane, yes; Ukyo, yes; Shampoo, yes. Who are we missing? Ryoga was gone somewhere, and maybe Mousse had caught more food than ever, and is probably running late, but where in the world is Ranma at?

"Hey, does anyone know where Mousse went?" Ukyo asked, finally realizing that the blind Amazon was now missing.

Akane's stomach now responded to that. "Oh, and does anyone know who went to hunt for food?" she asked, clutching her stomach.

"No, me and Shampoo were busy with the tents and supplies. How about you? Did you see him? After all, you did go get the firewood." Ukyo replied, now realizing her hunger as well.

"Where stupid Mousse off to now?" Shampoo asked.

"That's what we need to know." Cologne said. "Fan out and search for Mousse and Ranma! They can't have gone far!" she ordered.

They did not argue with her on that, and they went off in three different directions; Akane to the north, Shampoo to the west, and Ukyo to the east.

… … …

Later, they regrouped, and huddled together around the fire to discuss Mousse's whereabouts. So far, they have no idea what might have happened to Mousse, or Ranma.

"When was the last time you hear Mousse before he seemed to have disappear?" Cologne asked them.

"Now that you mention it, Mousse was awfully quiet." Ukyo said, remembering the past few hours of walking.

"Yeah, he's never been that quiet before!" Akane agreed.

"What your point?" Shampoo asked, clearly frustrated.

"Well, if he wasn't talking, then something must've happened to him when we came the way we did. He could have gotten lost!" Akane concluded.

"That's ridiculous! Mousse was behind us the whole time! How could he have gotten lost when we were right in front of him?" Ukyo asked, also getting frustrated.

"Oh no!" Cologne exclaimed.

"What is it?" Ukyo asked.

"I should never have trusted Ranma into the custody of Mousse!" Cologne exclaimed.

"Why?" they asked.

"I completely forgot that his eyesight is what has caused him to get lost!" Cologne clarified.

"What? How could you forget that his eyesight was that bad? If he was that bad, then why'd you trust him?" Akane asked, temper rising.

"Enough questions! We must find them now!" Cologne exclaimed.

Before they could move, all four of their stomachs growled at the same time. They developed sweat drops, and just stood there blankly.

"Let's eat first, then search." Cologne said.

… … …

After eating, they set out to look one last time for Mousse and Ranma, but there was no luck on finding them. They came back to the same spot, and tried thinking of a new plan.

"Well, since I'm the only one around here who clearly knows where the Temple of Origins is, we have no choice but to keep on going, and perhaps we'll meet up with Mousse along the way." Cologne said, hanging her head in defeat.

"No way! How do we even know if they're going the same way we are? They'll probably just walk past the Temple of Origins, and we wouldn't even know about it!" Akane shouted, furious beyond compare.

"We have no way of tracking them down in these conditions. We must pause, and wait until morning. Mousse may be far away, but one thing is for sure, he was taught never to travel at night. I'll bet he's not going anywhere considering the time. I think we should rest now, and get a start in the morning." Cologne said.

They calmed down at the mention of a good night's rest, and were reassured that Mousse was not dumb enough to keep going in the dark. They could only hope that they were safe. After that, they turned in for the night.

… … …

'Dark...'

'The light is disappearing...'

'I can no longer feel it...'

'The darkness is taking me...will someone help me before it's too late?'

... ... ...

They woke when the first light of dawn hit them, and they ate last night's leftover, not even bothering to start on making a proper breakfast. The camp was packed up, and the group moved on, determined to find Mousse and Ranma before it was too late.

The road continued on to the end of the mountain, and trailed downward to the open country. Every now and then, they checked their surroundings for signs of danger, and possibly Mousse and Ranma, but so far, no sign of them have been spotted.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that we're moving farther away from them. How do we know if they're ahead, or behind us?" Ukyo asked, slumping down on a log.

They stopped for a small break, and kept silent, always worrying for Ranma.

… … …

"ACHOO!" Mousse sneezed.

"My, bless you, Mousse." Amatsu excused him, slightly startled at Mousse's sudden sneeze.

"Hey, are you okay, Mousse?" Ryoga asked.

"Must be catching onto something?" Mousse suggested, and readjusted Ranma in order to make it easier for the walk.

"Look, you want me to take over? You look kinda winded down." Ryoga asked.

"Nah, I can go for another few miles. I'll be fine. I wonder what that was about." Mousse said, taking out a handkerchief from within his wide-sleeved Chinese robe, and blowing his nose on it.

"You could either be catching a cold, or someone may be talking about you." Ryoga suggested.

"Maybe Shampoo's finally worried about me!" Mousse fantasized

"Yeah, keep dreaming, Mousse." Ryoga said, not convinced. "ACHOO!"

"Bless you, Ryoga." Amatsu excused him.

"Ha, someone must be talking about you too." Mousse said, and handing his handkerchief to Ryoga.

_'Maybe Akane's finally thinking about me! Boy, isn't that the truth!' _Ryoga thought, while blowing his nose and handing the handkerchief back to Mousse.

"How much farther until we get there?" Mousse asked.

"I'm getting more of a vibe from this direction. I believe I'm becoming closer to finding the Temple of Origins than I have been for eight years! If we're lucky, we'll be there in no time!" Amatsu exclaimed.

"Great! Let's just be care-FUL!' Mousse said, but he was interrupted in mid-sentence when he fell down the fifty-eighth hole for perhaps the tenth time that hour.

"Mousse, would you watch where you're going! If this keeps up, I'm gonna have to carry Ranma!" Ryoga called down.

"Thanks for the sympathy, Ryoga!" Mousse called up to him, and used his chains to climb up the hole. He set Ranma down, and laid down next to her for a chance to breathe. "Let's rest here, okay?"

"Fine." Ryoga said, and he and Amatsu sat next to Mousse to allow time to rest. Ryoga took out a water canteen, and took a waterfall from it, being careful not to spill any of its contents onto his lap, for fear of triggering his curse.

"Hey…can I…get some of that…Ryoga, please?" Mousse asked, panting.

"Sure, here you go." Ryoga said, and tossed the canteen to Mousse, but forgot to cap it. Mousse caught it clumsily, and accidentally tipped it over himself. Now transformed into a duck, Mousse quacked angrily at Ryoga.

"What was that, Mousse? Sorry, I don't understand you." Ryoga teased, cupping his ear. That irritated Mousse the duck even more.

"Great! Now, I have to carry Ranma and you, Mousse, huh?" Ryoga taunted.

"QUACK!" Mousse quacked angrily, and aimed an arrow at Ryoga's face, but he dodged it effortlessly.

"Okay, okay! I'll get the hot water started." Ryoga relented and pulled out the kettle, and portable stove. Ryoga tipped the canteen, and tried emptying the contents, but nothing came out.

"Oops, there's nothing left. I guess we'll have to wait until we find water somehow. Just hang in there, Mousse." Ryoga teased, and capped the empty canteen, and packed up.

"Shall I carry your duck friend?" Amatsu asked.

"Sure. Just watch out for his…uh, 'you know what'." Ryoga warned, and scooped Ranma onto his shoulders for a piggyback ride. Amatsu followed suit, and led them onward.

… … …

A/N: Well, this is the first chapter of the New Year, 2011! Cool, huh? How was your New Years? Cool? Well, I went to Disneyland for my New Year's, and it was epic, especially the countdown! I hope you enjoy this! Sorry it's a lot shorter than it was expected, but I'm trying to get ready for the next semester of the school year! I hope to see you guys next time! Please rate, comment, and review, and I will update soon! Bye!


	5. First to the Temple

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

**Chapter 5: **First to the Temple

Ryoga, Mousse, and Amatsu had gotten clear of the trap rigged path, and were well on their way to finding the Temple, but the weather would not let them go any further than the tree line. Ryoga held his bamboo umbrella over the entire group to shield them from the rain. Particularly him, because he was the only one left that had yet to activate his curse when wet. He carried Ranma over one shoulder, and his pack, and umbrella over the other shoulder; whereas Mousse (still in duck form) sat on Amatsu's shoulder, clearly annoyed.

"What do you say we stop here until the rain subsides?" Ryoga asked, unsure about going on in the rain.

The rain was pouring down hard, and they had no choice but to set up camp early. It had been three days since Ranma was first cursed, and seeing as how he (or rather she) was due to die in the next few days. They could not risk going through the rain this way. They didn't know it was going to rain, but thankfully they had stopped when it came.

"I see there is no way we can continue on like this, Mister Hibiki." Amatsu said.

"Isn't there a faster way to get to the Temple?" Ryoga asked, setting down Ranma and his pack.

"If I were to go on alone, maybe I can wake Ryoga up in no time at all. I have no problems with trudging through cold water." Amatsu suggested.

"We may be traveling together, but there's no way we're going to trust you completely." Ryoga said with an icy tone.

"My, but we only just told each other our life stories. I thought we could place our trust in each other that way." Amatsu said, obviously trying to get on Ryoga's good side.

"I can't trust you." Ryoga stated finally.

"Why not? I'm a monk, what's not to trust?" Amatsu asked.

"You may be a monk, but if we let you take Ranma, how do we know you won't take advantage of Ranma once you're far enough away? First of all, I have no sense of direction, so there's a ninety percent chance of not finding you in time, and second, Mousse is as blind as a bat; why do you think we don't trust you?" Ryoga said.

"I have an answer. It's because with your directional curse, you could easily wander anywhere, but never the right way, and if I were to go and wake Ranma up, I would be waiting for weeks on end for you. Can I assume that if you never find me, I would take the opportunity to somehow take 'advantage' of the situation, and abuse it in your absence? The blind boy, Mousse, would probably not get very far with his eyesight, and thus far, you have no choice but to watch over me, right?" Amatsu explained his scenario.

"That's exactly right." Ryoga said, completely finished with setting up his one-man tent.

"While we're at it, why don't I set up the cooking fire for tonight's dinner? I'm quite good at it." Amatsu volunteered.

"Sure, go ahead." Ryoga said.

Amatsu wandered around the perimeter of the camp circle, and stopped at key positions to pray, or what looked like it from Ryoga's point of view. Amatsu pulled out his prayer beads, and prayed to the north, south, east, and west side of the campsite. He stabbed his _Shakujou _into the ground, and started drawing a circle around the area with the end of it. When he was finished with that, he went to the middle, and started building a fire. He completed this ritual by standing in the front of the fire, and chanting some spell in some ancient tongue, and sat down to cook dinner.

Ryoga just stared at what the monk was doing. It looked like Amatsu was trying to place a spell around the campsite, but he could never be sure.

"Hey, Amatsu, what did you just do?" Ryoga asked, after a while.

"What?"

"Why were you drawing a circle, and all that stuff?" Ryoga clarified.

"It was a ritual to ward off evil." Amatsu said, and then searched the pocket of his robes for something. Finally, he found it; a talisman, and handed the talisman to Ryoga.

"Would you please place this talisman at the forefront of the circle I drew?" he gestured. Ryoga walked to the place where Amatsu indicated, and was surprised to see that he was able to get there without being lost (even though it was only five meters from the fire).

Amatsu finished the final touches to the stew he was making, and got out three bowls for them. He gave one to Ryoga, and placed the other one in front of Mousse.

"Help yourself." He said, and they got some.

_Quack!_

"Oh, I forgot about you, Mousse. Please forgive me." He said, and poured some hot water over Mousse to transform him back to human form (thankfully he was able to get his clothes back on him when it happened).

"Hey, how do you do that?" Ryoga asked, after a spoonful of the stew.

"Do what?" he asked, and took a spoonful as well.

"How do you always transform back to human form, and get your clothes back at the same time? I can never do that!" Ryoga asked.

"Well, I'm not the 'Master of Hidden Weapons' for nothing." Mousse bragged.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Ryoga asked weakly.

"Maybe…"

"What do you mean by 'maybe'?" Ryoga asked, suspicious.

"Nothing." He said.

Just like that, another night passed by like that, and they were ready to go first thing in the morning.

… … …

"Let's get a move on! The rain has stopped for now!" Amatsu announced after breakfast.

They moved as fast as they could to pack up camp, and get moving before the rain came again. After the last thing was packed, Ryoga took Ranma out of the tent, and laid her down on the driest spot he could find, and pack up the one-man tent that Ranma used. _Ranma is so going to pay me back for using my only tent! _Ryoga thought.

"Count yourself lucky that I'm a nice guy, and I don't hold grudges." Ryoga said. (Although that was not true.) He packed the tent on top of his pack, and went back for Ranma, but when he placed his hand around Ranma's arm (which is usually the first thing you do when you try to hoist them onto your back) he froze.

"Yo, what's wrong, Ryoga? Let's go!" Mousse called to him from the other side.

"Mousse…" Ryoga said, hesitantly. "…Ranma…"

"Yeah, what about him?" Mousse asked, and was beside Ryoga in less than a second. He checked to see what was wrong with Ranma, and placed a hand on her hand, and checked to see if there was something on her face, then he too froze.

"She's…cold…" Mousse said, after placing his hand on her face to see what was wrong with Ryoga.

"…as death…" Ryoga finished for him, and the two sat there, too stunned to move.

"Hey, you two! Let's go before it starts to rain!" Amatsu warned, then rushed to them, and experimented with Ranma's cheeks like the other two, and instead of freezing like them, he just held a thoughtful expression (as if her condition was completely normal).

"It's as I feared." He said, more to himself than to anyone in particular. "She is getting worse every minute we stay here. For every waking moment we take to get to the Temple of Origins, the more she begins to slip beyond the light beyond the darkness." He said.

"What does that mean?" Ryoga and Mousse asked at the same exact moment.

"If we don't hurry…she gets closer and closer to death. As we speak, her soul is walking through the very darkness itself, and if she comes into contact with the light, her body and spirit will be so far apart, that her only rope attached to this life…will completely vanish." He clarified, and stood up. "We have no choice, then. We must travel like the wind."

With no more moments to spare, they stood up, and followed Amatsu at the same break-neck pace he used. No sooner had they gone past, they quickly found that they were getting closer to the Temple of Origins.

… … …

Elsewhere, with Akane and company, they seemed to be going just fine. Cologne had her eyes glued to the map, and every once in a while looked at her surroundings to make sure that they were going down the right path.

"We must hurry! Are you tired already, slow pokes?" Cologne called to the stragglers behind her. Only Shampoo and Ukyo managed to stay three feet behind her, but Akane was thirty feet too far behind them, and she was panting from all the effort.

"Akane! You only slow us down!" Shampoo called to her. "Why not giving up?"

Akane stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and no sooner than that, she lifted her head up to glare at Shampoo and Ukyo.

"Well, why don't you guys just slow down a little! Some of us aren't used to this sort of walking!" Akane shouted.

"What good would that do anybody? You know as well as we do that 'ordinary' girls shouldn't overexert themselves on strenuous, long-distance traveling. Especially when that traveling is done in China, and on foot no less." Ukyo lectured, no ounce of sympathy from her.

"Ordinary? I'm as every bit a martial artist as you all are! I'm not so weak as to need lecturing from you, Ukyo, and certainly not from you, Shampoo!" Akane protested stubbornly. She struggled to stand straighter, and walk up to them.

"I just need to rest." Akane said finally.

"Why do we put up with her? She's like a spoiled school brat on a field trip." Ukyo muttered so that only Shampoo could hear, and she nodded her head in agreement.

"If we take too many breaks, we'll never catch up with Ranma! At this rate, we'll probably just let him die because of you!" Ukyo accused.

"Well, sorry I wasn't trained in childhood like you!" Akane argued back, but couldn't manage to put enough feeling in it to make it a heated argument.

"Seriously, you're like a princess on her first day out of the castle. Why don't we just leave you here, and see if you can burden us there!" Ukyo shot back.

"Why you…" Akane started.

"Enough! All three of you!" Cologne called to them. They turned to see that Cologne was more than ten feet away from them.

"Akane, you don't have to do this." Cologne reassured her.

"Oh, yes I do!" Akane shouted. "Ranma's my fiancé too! So, it's also my job to help him as much as I can!"

"Yes, but fiancés and martial artists go only so far. Even when faced with a long journey like this one, they can only go as far as their city limitations may allow them. This journey is not for you, Akane. You weren't trained to travel long distances without many breaks in between. This is the life we Amazons and warriors were trained to do, a simple child like you may not last very long if we keep on this break-neck pace." Cologne said.

"Yeah, you tell Akane her place!" Ukyo cheered.

"Hold on. I'm not finished yet. Akane herself is just as much a martial artist as she is a normal girl, perhaps we can teach her a few things about survival." Cologne interrupted.

"So, you'll give me another chance!" Akane exclaimed.

"Yes." Cologne said, and walked over to a nearby tree, and jumped up with the walking stick at the tree's shortest branch (which was ten feet from the ground). She caught a glimpse of a beehive, and she whacked it off the branch art Akane. "Time for you to prove yourself!"

With that the bees inside the beehive erupted from it, and hurled themselves at Akane. She just stood there, too afraid to move anywhere at the moment.

"If you can push all the bees away, and avoid being stung, I'll recognize you as a true martial artist!" Cologne instructed.

"What? Are you crazy?" Akane shouted at Cologne.

"If you're fast enough, you could survive this, and you may proceed with us. If not, you have no choice but to stay behind. I have no desire to train whiners." Cologne said.

_Wait, if this means striking the bees before the bees strike at me, then this must be speed and reflex training! Yeah, she's trying to teach me the 'Hissatsu Tenshin Amaguriken', when Ranma wakes up, I'll so totally beat him at his own game of speed! _Akane thought. Her aura shot bright red, and she struck as fast as her fists would let her at the hundreds of bees waiting to sting her. She didn't get very far, and she only managed to swat five or six of them away, but they came back and stung her with twice the sting!

When they were done, all of them fell to the ground, dead. All that was left from the swarm attack was Akane's stinging skin. Her arms and face had been stung so much, that she turned into a mass of hives with hives within hives. Akane's eyes filled with tears, and she broked down crying, and she moved her hive-filled, clumsy arms to cover her face, for fear that Ukyo and Shampoo would see her and laugh uncontrollably,

Cologne leaped and landed in front of Akane. She placed her small, ancient, hand on her shoulder in reassurance. When Akane looked into her ancient eyes, she only saw shame and pity written all over those eyes, eyes she didn't want to see from anyone (let alone a half-dead ancient Amazon mummy).

"You tried your best, Akane…" Cologne said.

"She tried her best…Ha! That's a laugh! She's a joke to martial artists everywhere!" Ukyo commented. She didn't see the desired effect on Akane after she clearly insulted her skill in something she thought she was good at, but all she got was shameful sobs. She felt bad for saying that, but nothing could change the fact that what she said was true, to a certain degree.

"…which is why she has to keep training." Cologne finished, and that startled Akane. Her eyes opened wide, and stared at Cologne.

"I…_sob…_just…_sob…_have to…_sob…_train?" Akane asked through broken sobs.

"Even if they could, they couldn't just leave you out here. If I were to leave you out here all alone, your father would never let me hear the end of it." Cologne said, and grinned.

"Oh, thank you, Cologne!" Akane exclaimed, and pulled Cologne into a tight hug.

"Uh…let me go, please." Cologne said with annoyance.

"Sorry!" Akane said, and let her go.

"Wipe your tears, and try to keep up with us." Cologne said.

Akane wiped the tears away from her eyes, and followed Cologne, Ukyo, and Shampoo. _I can do it, just like them! I'll save you, Ranma! _Akane thought fiercely.

… … …

Ryoga, Amatsu, and Mousse had been walking for three hours straight, and they thought they would never get to the Temple. To the two young martial artists, it seemed like it was going to take an eternity at least until they found the Temple, and there were no signs of any particular landmarks ahead. Ryoga slumped his shoulders and nearly dropped Ranma, but Mousse quickly caught her before she fell off his back.

"You okay, Ryoga? I'll carry her for you." Mousse reassured.

"No, it's not her. It's just that it's been a long time since I've been on a journey quite like this." Ryoga protested, and readjusted Ranma onto his back and carried on. "The last time was when I chased Ranma back to China when he left our first official fight. I know it was my fault, and my sense of direction is totally out of whack, and I don't deserve to give any excuses, but I followed him anyway. I wasted no time in trying to find him, and before I knew it…life came back to bite me in the butt…if you know what I mean." Ryoga reminisced sadly.

"I think I understand." Mousse said.

Without warning, Amatsu thrust an arm out to halt them in their place.

"What's wrong, Amatsu?" Mousse asked.

"Wait." He commanded, and he thrust his _Shakujou _onto the ground before him.

"We are close." He said finally. "But, we are going to be expecting company."

Out of nowhere, a mist began to develop around them, and it completely engulfed their surroundings. Ryoga lost sight of both Amatsu and Mousse, even though they're barely a few meters in front of him. Mousse just couldn't see period, he checked for his glasses, and he propped them back onto his face. Even with them, he could not see through the dense fog.

"Ryoga!" Mousse called. "Where are you? Are you and Ranma okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay for now!" Ryoga called back. "Where are you, Amatsu? Are you and Mousse okay?"

"I'm fine for now!" Mousse answered.

When no answer from Amatsu came, they began to get worried. _Where is Amatsu? Is he okay? More importantly, are we okay? _They both thought.

… … …

Ryoga-

Ryoga steps backward a little to see if he could see either Amatsu, or Mousse's silhouettes in the dense fog, but it was no use no matter how far back he moved. The fog around him lifted, and he adjusted his eyes to make out one side of an abandoned temple. He thought he was hallucinating at first, but when he wiped his eyes, and pinched his left cheek, he saw that the side of the temple he was in was no illusion.

He stumbled backward, and nearly tripped over a rock. He spun around, and let Ranma land on him instead. _That hurt! _He thought, and then he lifted his head to see anywhere else around him. The only thing he could see was the side of the temple, but everywhere else was a veil of fog. He got Ranma off him, and laid her down next to him. He stood up, and cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted at the temple, and all around him it echoed.

"Hey! Mousse, Amatsu, can you hear me?" he shouted, but nothing answered back. "Mousse!" he tried again, but he received no response back.

"Damn it! I think I'm lost now! Curses!" he shouted at the wall, and he slumped to the ground to wallow in his own self-pity.

Out of nowhere, a deep growl came, and he jumped to his feet to see what was there.

"Who, or what's there?" he called out.

The deep growl answered him, and it echoed all around him. Out of the fog, an army of black-furred bloodhounds with red eyes jumped out and surrounded him. They all had beastly snarls for expressions, and the very sight of them could scare the living daylights out of anyone, but Ryoga. They looked less like ordinary dogs, and more like dog-demons.

"You wanna fight me? I'm not scared of you!" he declared, but in fact, he was so scared inside, that he thought he would never be able to face these bloodhounds. They were a pig's worse nightmare.

He shut his eyes for a moment, but he opened them up with much force.

"Alright, you asked for it!" Ryoga shouted, and he charged at the nearest bunch like a bull, and they, likewise, did the same. "I'm coming, you mangy mutts!"

… … …

Mousse-

"Where is everyone? I can't see a thing." Mousse muttered to himself after calling out Ryoga and Amatsu's names for about the tenth time already. He never received an answer, and he was starting to get worried.

Before he knew it, the fog lifted around, and he found himself looking at another part of a temple (clearly abandoned). _What is this place? I don't remember walking here! In fact, I do remember Amatsu saying that we were close, so this might be it? _He thought.

Now, he stumbled backward over a stone, and hit the ground hard. He shook off the aching in his head, and stood back up. In the same manner, a noise spilled through the fog, and echoed all around.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not alone?" he asked, not wanting to know the answer.

The noise turned into howling. Suddenly, he jumped when a pack of wolves jumped from out of nowhere, and surrounded him. They were clearly wolves because they were larger than dogs, and they had larger heads, but at the same time, they had features that made them look more like demonic wolves. Their eyes were glowing yellow with slits, and their fangs were so long that they spilled out of their mouths and touched their chins. Their fur was black and white, and their claws looked like small knives. Each wolf was easily as big as Mousse, something that frightened even him.

"I…I'm not afraid of some wolves!" Mousse declared with some fright hidden within his tone, which it did not help matters at the moment. "C…Come at me, you freaks!"

He pulled out a katana, and held the sword and sheath between him and the wolves.

"Yah!" he yelled, and charged at the wolves with the sword, they did the same and charged at him.

… … …

A/N: So far this is my longest chapter! Are you guys wondering why I have everyone refer to Ranma as a girl? Well, the reason why I do that is because his curse was locked before he was cursed to fall asleep, so I'm working on a way to wake 'her' up, and unlock the curse at the same time. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the holidays, but it's time to get back to business. The holidays were enjoyable, but I have to go back to school sometime. Please rate, comment, and review! I'll update soon, maybe around when school starts again. Thanks!


	6. Regroup!

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

**Chapter 6: **Regroup!

Akane closed her eyes in concentration, and focused on her training. Cologne stood on a branch of the tree in front of them. Akane had not gotten close to mastering the 'chestnut fist' technique, but she would not let her lack of speed get the upper hand. She knew she was not as fast as Ranma, or any of the NWC, but she was determined to get as close as she possibly could. Trying to get up to Ranma's level of speed was nearly impossible, but she would try.

"Are you ready, Akane?" Cologne asked for the thousandth time they tried it that morning.

Akane opened her eyes, and glared at Cologne.

"Yeah, let 'em rip!" Akane shouted.

With that Cologne knocked the beehive hanging on the tree toward Akane. Her fists struck in the same flurry of fists as Ranma's, and she managed to knock the bees and the hive away in exactly five seconds flat. When they stopped coming, she checked her hands, this time there was not a single sting on her. She jumped up in victory, and ran to Cologne, her sensei.

"Cologne, I finally did it!" Akane exclaimed, and collapsed stomach-first onto the ground in front of her, exhausted.

"I'm proud of you!" Cologne praised. "I'm surprised at how fast you learned how to utilize the technique. You should be honored."

"Oh, I am!" Akane agreed, exhausted.

"Great-grandmother! Shampoo come back with water!" Shampoo shouted, and went up to Cologne with a pail of water from the nearby river.

Cologne took the pail, and scooped some into a cup she took out of nowhere. She handed the cup to Akane, which in turn, she accepted, and drank joyfully.

"Now all we need to do now is to get Ukyo and continue on our way." Cologne explained the plan. "By the way, where is that girl?"

"Okonomiyaki chef go other way to fetch food for tonight's dinner!" Shampoo piped.

"Very well. Akane, are you well enough to move on?" Cologne asked, concerned.

"I'm always ready!" Akane exclaimed after chugging the whole cup of water in less than a minute, and as a result, started choking.

Shampoo pat her back, and made Akane throw some water back out while she was at it.

"Kitchen destroyer okay? Akane shouldn't drink so much!" Shampoo lectured.

"I'll take that as good advice." Akane said, beating her chest while she cleared her throat.

"Let's get down to business, girls." Cologne said, and laid out the map in front of them.

"How long will it take to get the Temple of Origins?" Akane asked.

"If we continue the way we are, I'd say we'd get there soon." Cologne said.

Then, some rustling from the bushes was heard, and they stood immediately ready for battle. The rustling continued until the brunette Okonomiyaki chef emerged from the bushes leading the monk known as Amatsu.

"I think they could help you." Ukyo said, obviously she'd been engaged in a conversation with Amatsu.

"Ukyo, who this?" Shampoo asked, taking a bo staff out from behind her.

"Didn't anyone teach you not to talk, or lead strangers out here?" Akane teased.

"Hey! This is serious! Go ahead, Amatsu." Ukyo said, indicating the monk.

"Oh, greetings, ladies. My name is Monk Amatsu, and I have traveled far in search of the divine blessing. I believe this young lady, Ukyo, said you'd be able to help us?" Amatsu said, bowing the entire time.

"Who's 'us'?" Akane asked, suspicious.

"This monk says he knows the whereabouts of Mousse, Ranma, and Ryoga." Ukyo said.

"Yeah, monk! Tell us!" Shampoo demanded.

"Yes. Well, it all started two days ago when I met the three of them, two young boys and one girl." Amatsu started.

"Yes. What's their description?" Cologne asked.

"One of them is myopic with long black hair, the other one wears a yellow-and-black striped bandana, and the girl had red hair tied back in a long pigtail, if I remember." Amatsu said.

"Yes, that's them! Where are they now?" Akane asked.

"Relax! I think we should discuss this. I believe I have led them into great danger." Amatsu said, and hung his head down in failure.

"What do you mean 'danger'?" Cologne asked.

"When we met, I believe we have not been on good terms with each other, and I knew they hated me for some reason, but I had no choice but to lead them to the Temple of Origins." Amatsu explained.

"How do you know where the Temple of Origins is?" Cologne interrupted.

"I have been in search of the Temple for years now, but now my search has been left to good use. My good will has allowed me to lead them and myself to their destination, but when we got into the vicinity of the Temple, a mysterious fog enveloped all of us, and I lost all three of them, and now I find myself in the company of Miss Kuonji here." Amatsu explained at last.

"Is this true?" Akane challenged.

"I asked that too." Ukyo said.

"Yes. It is all too true. I'm afraid if we don't hurry, they might be lost forever!" Amatsu exclaimed.

"Can you lead us to them again?" Cologne asked, aura rising.

"Yes, elder. I have the energy signature of the Temple, now I regret to tell you that I promised them something else." Amatsu said.

"What promise?" Akane asked.

"I promised that if I was able to lead them to the Temple with no problems, I'd break the young lady's curse. I'm an expert in breaking curses, and sleeping curses are nothing to me, except this time…it's completely foolproof."

"Well, now that we have that covered we can…oh, sorry! We forgot to introduce ourselves. My name's Akane Tendo, and you better be telling us the truth!"

"Shampoo my name." Shampoo said, narrowing her eyes at Amatsu.

"Cologne." Cologne said simply.

"And you already know me, it's Ukyo Kuonji." Ukyo said.

"It's nice to meet all of you. Now, let's be off!" Amatsu said, and led them the way to the Temple of Origins.

… … …

Ryoga dusted off three of the many demonic bloodhounds that attacked him. Luckily his physical strength is put to good use with them, if he were any normal human, he'd be dead in less than a minute, but he managed to last for more than three hours fighting off the head mutts.

"Only three down in less than three hours…at this rate, I'm not gonna be able to last more than a day if I keep taking one mutt down every hour. These things are too persistent. I can't use ki techniques, because there's too many of them, and my 'Shi Shi Hokodan' is only good for stationary targets. For now it's probably the only thing I haven't tried yet." Ryoga said, panting and fighting off five bloodhounds at once.

One of the bloodhounds got through Ryoga's defenses and bit into his ankle with all the strength its fangs could use. Ryoga let a pained scream loose, and a wave of rage sweep over them.

"That's **it**! **Shi Shi Hokodan!" **Ryoga shouted, and let a spirit bomb sized ki blast envelope him, and explode in all directions. All that was left was a giant crater, and the smoking bodies of the bloodhounds. "Alright, that's done!"

Before he could make any remarks, another set of bloodhounds appeared around the crater. Too exhausted to continue fighting them, he picked Ranma up, and leapt over the hounds at the forefront.

"This is getting crazy! I'm finding Mousse before I use up more energy like that!" Ryoga shouted back, leaving a trail of dust behind him, and running into the fog.

… … …

Ryoga ran through the dense fog, and suddenly found himself surrounded by wolves this time. _Not again! _He thought.

"Ryoga, oh am I glad to see you!" Mousse exclaimed, and threw his sword at a wolf

that locked on Ryoga as his near-excellent marksmanship, the sword stabbed the wolf, and flew right through him and into a tree behind it.

"Thanks, Mousse. Let's get out of here!" Ryoga shouted.

Mousse pulled another blade out from within his wide-sleeved robes, and sliced down some more charging wolves.

"You kiddin'? I could keep going! These wolves won't give up until I'm brought down, or they're all dead!" Mousse shouted psychopathically.

"Are you psycho, or something! We need to get out of here, and find the Temple!" Ryoga argued back, and kicked two more wolves back.

"You're just scared! I say we defeat them first, and then find it!" Mousse exclaimed, and continued fighting.

Mousse skewered three wolves at the same time, and sliced through a whole group with one swipe.

"Come join me! I could use a little help here!" Mousse said, covered from head to toe in wolf blood.

"I have a better idea! **Shi Shi Hokodan!" **Ryoga shouted, and shot a concentrated beam of ki at the wolves that lined up to slice Mousse into ribbons. "Let's go!"

"Oi! Who's here messing up my Temple! I will have you purified!" a voice shouted out, and the fog lifted, and the temple that they thought was in ruin was restored in a matter of minutes.

"What's this? Some kind of illusion?" Ryoga asked. "Look, whoever you are, we just want to get to the Temple of Origins!"

Out of nowhere, a priestess dressed in all white appeared in front of them. Ryoga and Mousse jumped back, scared. Who was this priestess? Where did she come from?

"Hold!" she shouted, and touched each of them on the foreheads, and stepped back.

"Forgive me! I'm just taking precautions! Welcome to the Temple of Origins!" the priestess presented, and bowed respectively, which they returned. "My name is Tsubaki, the Head Priestess."

"Tsubaki, we're honored to be in the presence of you and your temple." Mousse said, and bowed low.

"Oh, cut the formalities! Welcome! No mere mortal can just come into my temple like this, and when I heard you coming from a mile away I had to test you to see if you were worthy of entering its grounds."

"Oh, but the ruins we saw, what about them, and the fog?" Ryoga asked.

"That was all just an illusion." Tsubaki said with a smile. "Including the wolves, and the bloodhounds."

"That's some illusion! They nearly made us into tonight's dinner!" Ryoga shouted in disbelief.

"Everything is made by the power of the Temple of Origins, and that means that illusions will become reality upon entering its grounds. So, may I ask who you are and why you are here?"

"Oh, well my name's Ryoga Hibiki, and that's Mousse. We've come from far away, and we want a cure for our friend. I never wanted any part of this, but if there's any way out of this, I had to tag along." Ryoga said, referring to Ranma.

"I just might be able to help. Follow me." Tsubaki said, and she led them into the Temple.

… … …

Inside the temple, Tsubaki laid Ranma on a bed, and she lay a hand on her forehead, brushing the dry mat of red hair on her forehead while she was at it. It was clear that she had not had a proper bath in less than a week, and from the looks of it, she must have been in a battle, and since then, she suffered to the effects of eternal sleep.

"It's a good thing you two got here when you did." Tsubaki said.

"What do you mean?" they both asked at the same time.

"If you had stayed anywhere beyond the vicinity of the Temple, she'd be dead by now. Feel for yourself." Tsubaki said, and held Ranma's hand out for them to touch.

When they touched her hand, they froze in place.

"She was cold as ice the last time we touched her skin, but now she's getting warmer, like a candle that's been lit for the first time." Ryoga said.

"Exactly. The power of the Temple is revitalizing her, and when she is ready to emerge from beyond the 'deep sleep', we'll get started on the 'Spell of Awakening'." Tsubaki said, and tucked Ranma underneath the blankets. Her once pale face was finally gaining their rosy color back, she would soon be awakened.

"Why can't we do the spell now?" Mousse asked.

"It doesn't work that way. We can't cast the spell while she's so far into the deep sleep stage. For now we let the magic of the Temple work, and when she rises above the deep sleep stage, we'll be able to perform the 'Spell of Awakening.'" Tsubaki said. "For now, I'll get started on dinner. I believe we'll be having some company." With that she snapped her fingers, and disappeared from the room.

"Oh, I hate it when she does that!" Ryoga exclaimed, shocked.

"Is…is she a ghost?" Mousse asked, trembling.

… … …

"We're close." Amatsu said, and led them to a series of stairs. "Once we're up these stairs, we'll be able to meet your friends."

"Wait, didn't you say we'd encounter the fog that would prevent us from seeing the Temple?" Cologne asked.

"I did. But, the fog would only appear, and the temple would remain visible to mortals when it was being occupied, and I believe that we were able to get here without facing the fog, and its illusions. Once we're up these steps, we'll meet your friends." Amatsu said.

… … …

When they reached the top of the stairs, they came upon Tsubaki, who stood there, as if expecting them to be coming. They stopped, and waited for Tsubaki to say something, but for some reason she seemed to hold a hostile aura.

"Why are 'you' here?" Tsubaki asked hostilely.

"Why? We're here to see our friends! Let us see if they're okay! We've been separated for a while!" Akane shouted.

"I see that, but you cannot pass unless you defeat me in battle." Tsubaki. "I must test the meddle of my would-be guests. No one may pass unless they are here for good reasons. I sense that not all you are going to utilize the peacefulness of the Temple. It deserves proper respect."

"We don't mean you any harm, we just want to meet our friends again." Ukyo tried to reckon.

"You cannot negotiate your way into the Temple. Unless you can pass me, or I approve, I won't allow evil like you to pass." Tsubaki said, indicating Amatsu and Cologne.

"You, monk, you bear of the stench of ill will. I will not allow you, or the old one to pass." Tsubaki said.

"The nerve! Who are you calling 'old one'!" Cologne exclaimed, clearly insulted.

"I am the Head Priestess, Tsubaki, and I will not allow evil like you to pass! Neither I nor the Temple will allow your presence to go in unpurified!" Tsubaki said, and held a stack of sutras in her hands for purified.

"Hey, we're not here to do that stuff. We're good people!" Akane tried to convince her, but Tsubaki just narrowed her eyes at Akane, and hurled a sutra at her forehead. With a shock, Akane let out a shriek, and all the feelings of negativity left her behind.

"You pass. Anyone who wishes to pass must be purified." Tsubaki said, drawing two sutras.

"Very well. Purify us if you should need to." Cologne said, relenting.

Tsubaki touched each end of the sutras to their foreheads, and they felt all feelings of negativity leaving them.

Tsubaki let them pass, but she stopped Amatsu.

"You!" Tsubaki shouted, pressing the sutra even further onto his forehead, but nothing worked. "Why won't you be purified?"

"I wouldn't be worried about me if I were you. Please don't bother." Amatsu said, grinning.

"I see through your act! You will not pass without purification, demon!" Tsubaki shouted.

"You saw through me, just like everyone else! Although, you were the first one to show me!" Amatsu exclaimed, and transformed into phoenix king Saffron.

"No! You are…" Tsubaki said, but left the rest of the sentence hanging.

"I am Saffron, and I am reborn!" Amatsu (now Saffron) exclaimed, and let loose a ki blast at Tsubaki, causing an explosion.

"What's going on here?" Ryoga asked, him and Mousse coming out to see the commotion, together with Akane and the others.

"Saffron!" they exclaimed at the same time.

… … …

A/N: Well, I'm back in school now! That's gonna leave me less time to update this story! Now it's time for Q&A!

tuatara- Well, to answer your question, I have no real goal for this chapter after Ranma is awakened, and unlocked from his curse. I wanted this to just be a filler, as with all my other stories, I have no real goal, just mild motivation. And, the reason why I depict Akane as third-rate is because I'm trying to converse all the other character's opinions toward her, that does not mean that I see her as third-rate, you know what I'm saying?

ryu238- To answer your question, no I do not hate Akane. You know how almost all authors exaggerate their characters, and the way each of them interact with each other. That does not mean that I dislike her, however, I'm not a total fan of RanmaXAkane pairings (sorry about that!).

Well, those are the two I've been meaning to answer back for a while, and I'm sorry if the characters I describe may seem a bit hateful, or something, but you have to understand that I'm just trying to give them something to interact to. Besides, Ukyo and Shampoo among others always treat Akane as lower than dirt, so don't tell me you don't think they don't do that. Well, please rate, comment, and review, and I might answer all your questions sometime. Thank you!


	7. Saffron Returns!

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

**Chapter 7: **Saffron Returns! Pt 1

There, before them, was the former Amatsu, now turned Saffron, king of the phoenix, and in the flesh. They could not believe what they were seeing, and suddenly they knew why there was bad vibes coming out of Amatsu before. They each had suspected something was not quite right with the fake monk, now they saw Saffron, reborn.

"No way! Saffron, how are you still alive?" Ukyo piped up, readying her giant spatula for battle. "I thought Ranma-honey wasted you for sure!"

"There was no mistake! I sensed you had died, Saffron!" Cologne added.

Suddenly, Saffron's grim expression changed into a grin, then he started chuckling, finally breaking into fitful laughter, it's certainly not fitting for the phoenix king.

"You thought? Well, you thought wrong, missy!" Saffron said after he was done, getting serious again. "I am a phoenix. You all know of the legend of the phoenix when he dies, after he dies, he burns to ashes, and within hours he rises out of the ashes, reborn anew! I cannot believe you forgot that!"

"Well, no matter, we're going to wake Ranma up, and until then, you're going to have to face us!" Ryoga declared, taking a stance next to Mousse, who was also ready.

"It is impossible! As long as I am still around, he, or she rather, will never wake up! I must be the one to will it, or die trying." Saffron stated.

"You were Amatsu all that time, weren't you? How come you couldn't wake Ranma up at that time? You said you had a spell!" Mousse exclaimed, angry.

"You thought I was waking him up? Hah! That's a laugh! I lied, and said it was a failure, but what I actually did was speed up the spell, and he would never wake up again!" The Phoenix king stated.

"So, you die, and spell wear off?" Shampoo asked.

"Exactly. But, I am immortal, and there's no way you are capable of killing me. I will just come back again, and he will never awaken." Saffron said.

"So, how about we fight you?" Akane asked, frustration evident in her voice.

"Why would I fight a bunch of weaklings like you?" Saffron boasted.

"Because, if we beat you in a battle of fists, no tricks, and special techniques involved, you have to wake Ranma up! Phoenix's honor!" Akane challenged defiantly. "Unless the so-called Phoenix god is scared, then we have nothing to fear when we beat you!"

Letting his pride get in the way, he accepted, but not without hearing his conditions first.

"As a Phoenix god, I am honor bound to accept any challenge, no matter how foolish! I will fight you!" he declared.

"I'm coming!" Akane shouted, and charged headfirst at Saffron, but before she could get close, he spoke.

"This would only be boring if I fought you one-on-one. You and I both know that you'd lose before you can land one blow on me! I say you double, no triple the odds. I will fight all seven of you at once!" Saffron stated.

"Why, you arrogant jerk!" Akane shouted, but Ryoga stopped her.

"He's right. You'll be pounded before you could land the first blow, this way, the odds will come in our favor, Akane. He may be a phoenix god, but he's not totally invincible. His power comes from his firepower, and without it, he's weak." Ryoga reassured her.

"Besides, he's not that fast, not as fast as Ranma. He's not as strong as Ryoga, and he's not that agile! We'll have more of a chance in this fight. He's nothing without his powers." Mousse said.

Akane settled for a grin, and then she spoke up.

"Getting a little too arrogant there, huh, Saffron? Why don't you fight us!" Akane exclaimed.

"I guess you're right. Seven on one does not seem like a fair fight, and it would just be easier to blast you into oblivion. It would get too tiresome if I were to fight all seven of you, so I will just fight you two!" Saffron declared, pointing to Ryoga and Mousse.

"That's fair enough! Let's go!" Ryoga shouted, and they got closer for a three-way fight.

"Hey, that's not fair! What about me!" Akane shouted.

"You are just a girl! I have no interest in fighting girls! I will fight these two since we 'go back a while'." Saffron said.

"How about me?" Cologne asked, clearly angry.

"You are just a withered old woman. I have no desire to fight old women!"

"I am not just any old woman! I am Cologne of the Amazons!" Cologne exploded, and her aura erupted violently, causing the temperature around them to increase.

Saffron winced, and stepped back a little from the aura. His expression of shock changed into a grin.

"I am so sorry, please forgive my rudeness, oh matriarch of Amazons." Saffron said with mock seriousness. "I will accept your challenge, and now you three are my opponents."

"We fight with everything we have! I wouldn't want to hurt the king of the phoenix tribe, badly." Cologne suggested lightly, and her aura became tamer as she said it.

Saffron grinned, and intensified his stare. _If you insist. _He thought. Suddenly, he gathered his hands together like he was holding a ball. He summoned a ball of fire, and that fire expanded, and thinned as it took on the shape of a staff with a loop at the top. He grabbed the staff, and the flames died down, and in the place of the fire was a staff.

**"Kinjakan!" **Saffron shouted the name.

"Oh no! Get back you two! That is the Kinjakan!" Cologne shouted to both Ryoga and Mousse.

"What the heck is a 'Kinjakan'?" Ryoga asked.

"It is one of the two main weapons used by the phoenix; the Kinjakan. I know that it is a powerful weapon, and that it wields unimaginable power; power enough to slice through mountains, and summon fire, at least that's what the legend said." Cologne said.

"You mean you don't really know what that thing is?" Ryoga face-faulted and asked at the same time.

"No. But be careful." Cologne said, but just as she was warning them, the a ring about two feet in diameter came toward Cologne, and she dodged it, but just barely. The ring rammed into a tree instead of the old matriarch, and cut it clean off the rest of the stump. Saffron caught the ring, and reattached it on the Kinjakan.

"Are you quite done bickering amongst yourself?" Saffron asked impatiently. "If you continue to bicker like this, I'll lose interest in the fight, and just let your friend die peacefully. It would be a fitting end to one such as Ranma. Really, you should be thanking me for what I did. Are we still fighting, or not?"

"You'll get what you deserve, jerk!" Ryoga shouted, and he threw a wild straight punch at Saffron, which he dodged almost effortlessly.

Mousse charged in and threw some chains at Saffron in an effort to restrain him. Unprepared for the chains, the chains surrounded him, and caught his arms. A vein bulged from Saffron's temple, and he simply pulled back, and the chains pulled Mousse with it. Saffron had the power of the gods, so he used that strength to pull Mousse over his head, and rapidly encircle him. In a matter of moments, Mousse was wrapped in his own chains, too stunned about it, Saffron kicked him flat on him back and left him there.

"Mousse!" Ryoga called out, and he charged at Saffron, and he used a high-kick. Saffron batted the kick away, and he smacked Ryoga in the side of the head with the dull end of the Kinjakan.

Ryoga pulled back a little to clutch his aching head, but before he could recover, Saffron hit Ryoga full on with his staff, and Ryoga stumbled. Any normal human would fall sensibly to the floor from the force of a but of a staff, but we keep forgetting that Ryoga is far from normal, and he did the exact opposite. Ryoga pulled back, and launched a feint at Saffron's head, which he dodged, and Ryoga swept him off his feet, and got him unbalanced.

Saffron stumbled back a little, and he suffered a bit from the rapid-fire punches from Ryoga. He got in about thirty punches in under a minute, and Saffron fell over on his knees, and clutched his stomach in an effort to recover.

"It's my turn!" Mousse shouted, unbound from his chains, and throwing a few kunai knives at Saffron's hunched over form. The knives lodged themselves in Saffron's back, and he fell flat on his stomach, blood spilling from his knife wounds. "He's finished!"

"Great, Mousse! I knew this would work!" Ryoga shouted with glee.

"Ha! He never stood a chance against us all at the same time! He couldn't even win against two of us! What a laugh!" Mousse agreed, and joined Ryoga.

Ryoga dropped to Saffron's side, and checked for a pulse. There was none. His heart had stopped beating, but for how long?

"He's dead…" Ryoga said.

"…for now anyway." Cologne finished for him.

"What do you mean 'for now anyway'? His heart stopped beating." Ryoga asked.

"He's a phoenix. He will not die like this." Cologne said. "Brace yourselves!"

Without warning, Saffron's lifeless body shot up in flames, and he turned to ash before them. Five minutes later, something emerged from the pile of ashes. A small child emerged, barely four years old. This small child was Saffron reborn.

He grinned his devilish grin, and stared menacingly at Ryoga and Mousse. Even in his child form, Saffron still managed to intimidate them. He spat.

"You thought you had me, didn't you?" Saffron said. "You people just don't learn. You may kill me as many times as you like, but I always come back better than ever."

"You don't scare us! You're just a kid now!" Mousse begged to differ.

"You know that I turn into ashes whenever I'm killed, but you don't know that I get more powerful as I return. My power is doubled." Saffron said, and ran at them with a speed that no normal child should be able to possess. Saffron appeared in front of them, and beat Mousse with the butt of the Kinjakan in a matter of seconds. Mousse fell over, and clutched his aching ribs.

_He's gotten faster! And stronger! But how could we kill him so easily if Ranma couldn't _Mousse thought, and he stood up slowly.

"Surprised?" Saffron asked. "You should fear me now. I was only killed because of my own carelessness. I held back on your account because you're just mere humans, but I guess I don't have to hold back." He said, and he called up a ring of fire and fired it at Ryoga, which he dodged with difficulty.

Saffron launched rapid fireballs at them, and they dodged each of them, but everything else around them became scorched. He launched a fireball at Ryoga, and he jumped out of the way in time, but Cologne was behind him. Ryoga saw too late, the fireball met its target, and exploded, leaving a crater in its wake.

"Cologne!"

… … …

A/N: I've really made the effort to try and update this story today, and I gotta end this before I forget about it. I hope for those of you who are back in school by this time are getting by a lot better than I am. I feel like crap, bottom line. But, that's life. Please rate, comment, and review, you know it. Thanks!


	8. Ranma's Revival!

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

**Chapter 8: **Ranma's Revival!

Ryoga thrust his index finger at the ground around Saffron, and attempted to throw the phoenix king off balance, and hopefully take him by surprise in the confusion of the dust cloud. The ground around him exploded, and a thick dust cloud surrounded them all. _Now he can't see. If he can't see me, then I can attack him when he least expects it! _He thought, and charged headfirst into the dust cloud. Saffron coughed the dust out of his lungs, and tried to clear his vision, but saw none.

"I got you!" Ryoga shouted, and pounded Saffron with a straightforward punch. "Now, you'll pay for what you did!"

When the dust cloud dissipated, Saffron just stood there as if nothing happened, though the bruise on his cheek was evident. Even if he felt it, it didn't show on his expression.

Something else was different about him. Saffron had aged about two years, and was now a six year old, but he still stood normally. When someone is hit with that kind of punch, they would usually go down, but he didn't, he just grinned.

"If that was supposed to hurt me, then you are sadly mistaken." Saffron said with a smirk.

"How did you recover so quickly?" Ryoga asked.

"Raw power alone won't be enough to defeat me. In fact, you just helped me a great deal. Because of what you did, I have been allowed to age two years, which makes me far stronger." Saffron boasted.

"You think you're so hot! You'll pay for Cologne's death!" Mousse shouted, and threw some kunai knives at Saffron.

Before the knives could make their way to their target, they stopped in midair. Saffron held his hands out, and took them right out of the air, and threw them at Mousse with the same velocity.

"Your attacks are useless! At this rate, you'll be closer and closer to that old witch!" Saffron shouted out.

"Stop talking, you scum!" Ryoga shouted, and let a ball of ki appear between his cupped fingers. "You make me sick! Take this **'Shi Shi Hokodan!'**"

Ryoga let the ball of ki loose, and it changed to a full-on blast. The blast made its way toward Saffron, but he simply dodged it. Instead of Saffron being blasted, the wall directly behind him was blasted in his place.

"Hey, watch where you're aiming, idiot!" Ukyo shouted. "Ranma's in that direction!"

Ryoga chose to ignore that comment, and he let loose a series of 'Shi Shi Hokodan' blasts at Saffron. Like before, Saffron managed to avoid all of the blasts, and they all got something else instead.

"This is sacred grounds, remember! If you continue to fight like this, I have no choice but to kick you both out, no matter who is victorious!" Priestess Tsubaki shouted before one of the blasts could get to her. Akane made a rush for her, and pushed her out of the way.

"Stop running around, you little brat!" Ryoga shouted, and blasted at the same time.

"Brat? I seem to recall that you're the brats around here." Saffron said, and disappeared from Ryoga's view, and reappeared behind him. "I have lived far too many centuries to be insulted like that! I am the leader of the phoenix tribe, and you shall show respect!"

"Respect this!" Ryoga retaliated, and sweep kicked Saffron onto his butt. Ryoga made a punch for Saffron, but Mousse intercepted him.

"No! This brat is mine! He must pay for what he did to Cologne!" Mousse reminded him, and drew a sword from his wide-sleeved robe. "Prepare for royal execution!"

"I have no time for this." Saffron said, and caught the sword in between his palms. No matter how hard Mousse tried to pry his sword from Saffron's iron grip, he couldn't force it, instead, Saffron knocked the blade away, and swung the Kinjakan at Mousse's head.

"Duck, Mousse!" Ryoga warned him, and Mousse ducked.

"If you have time to dodge me, you might as well kiss the ground beneath my feet!" Saffron exclaimed, and kicked Mousse to the ground.

"You won't take me down!" Mousse shouted, and grabbed Saffron's ankle to keep him from moving.

"Release me!" Saffron demanded.

"No I won't!" Mousse refused. "Take him down, Ryoga!"

"With pleasure!" Ryoga shouted, and tackled Saffron to the ground.

"Release me, you fools!" Saffron shouted from under Ryoga.

"Not unless you release Ranma from the spell!" Ryoga shouted.

"Don't you realize that the only way to release the spell is to kill me, and perform the spell of release." Saffron explained.

Ryoga punched Saffron angrily in the face, but his expression never wavered.

"We don't know any spells!" Ryoga said fiercely.

"Too bad. That old witch could've been your only chance at reviving that heap of worthless mass."

Ryoga and Mousse punched him at the same time, an they received no response.

"Whose fault was it that she's dead, bastard!" Mousse exclaimed.

Ryoga let his weight relax, and Saffron took the advantage and kicked Ryoga and Mousse off of him.

"Prepare to die!"

Saffron lowered the Kinjakan's sharp circlet down over Ryoga's neck, and threatened him.

"If you even attempt to resist me, your neck will come off with the rest of your head." He threatened, and let the Kinjakan's circlet rest just five centimeters away from Ryoga's throat.

"I'll never give in to you!" Ryoga declared.

Saffron's eyes narrowed at that response and pressed the circlet against Ryoga's throat. The action didn't register in Ryoga's mind, all he could think of was getting revenge. Even with a cold, hard blade seconds away from ending his life, he did not think of giving up. Giving up was never his forte, and he intended to keep it until he was dead.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Saffron threatened even more, and nicked Ryoga's throat a little. The action was light enough so that blood didn't come out, but it was certainly strong enough to sting Ryoga.

"I'll never give in to you, I said!" Ryoga repeated.

"Very well. Your head will be my prize in this fight." Saffron said in a voice slightly above a whisper.

Saffron raised the Kinjakan, and took the circlet apart from the rest of the staff, then held it to Ryoga's throat.

"Die!" Saffron shouted, and raised the circlet above his head, and let it come down.

Ryoga closed his eyes and prepared for the worse, but the worse never came. Ryoga peaked through one eyelid, and saw that the circlet was caught in some chains.

"Don't forget me! I'm still your opponent!" Mousse shouted when Ryoga followed the chain to the owner, Mousse. Mousse was kneeling just fifty yards away from Ryoga, and his chain found a way to stop Saffron from finally ending his life.

"Why you! Let go!" Saffron growled, and instantly aged another two years.

"I won't!" Mousse shouted back.

Ryoga moved a hand in front of him, and placed it close to Saffron's abdomen.

"**Point-blank! Shi Shi Hokodan!**" Ryoga shouted, and let go a burst of energy through Saffron.

The ki made its way through Saffron, and made a huge hole in the middle of his chest; revealing his beating heart. Ryoga made a grab for his heart.

"Ah! Let go!" Saffron shouted.

"You won't be able to revive without your heart intact." Ryoga said fiercely, and gripped a little harder on the phoenix king's exposed heart. _Disgusting!_

Saffron tried to move his arm to make Ryoga let go of his heart, but his limbs were paralyzed. _What's this? I can't move my arms! _He thought, and stared at Ryoga with a shocked expression.

Mousse walked right from behind Ryoga, and stood directly above him with a new sword in his hand.

"Let Ranma out of his spell, and we'll let you go!" Mousse demanded, and just then, a crowd appeared behind him, and glared at him.

"Please! Just let me live!" Saffron shouted, exasperated.

"Not unless you find a way to release Ranma." Ukyo said.

"Either that, or your heart will go out with it!" Ryoga shouted, and squeezed his heart a little harder.

"Isn't that what you wanted? The only way to revive that worthless heap of mass is to kill me, and perform a spell of release! How are you going to rejoice after my passing, and Ranma's awakening?" Saffron said, sweat appearing on his brow.

"We don't know any spell! You said Cologne might know of this spell, but you killed her, so we want you to kill yourself, and wake him up while you're at it." Ryoga demanded.

Just then, a chill descended upon them, and a shrill voice they knew too often came back.

"I'm not dead yet, you know." The owner of the voice said, and they turned around to see Cologne standing behind them, perfectly unharmed. Akane stood next to her. _When did she get there?_

"You should really be thanking her." Akane said when they realized it was Cologne, and they grew excited.

Ryoga let go of Saffron's exposed heart, and stood to face Cologne along with the rest of them.

"You have that little faith in me? It was simple to dodge a blast like that." Cologne said.

"You're still alive!" Mousse shouted, and pulled Cologne into a bear hug.

"I'll still be alive unless you release me, you idiot." Cologne said, and Mousse let go.

"Sorry."

"Anyway, we don't need your help, Saffron." Cologne said, taking the eight-year-old Saffron into account. The hole that had been in his chest just a moment ago was now closed, and any trace of being wounded was erased from him; as if he was never wounded to begin with.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I don't need you to waken Ranma." Cologne repeated.

"Why? I need to be dead! It doesn't work that way!" Saffron argued.

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke, one they hadn't heard in a lone time, but they didn't know where it was coming from.

"We don't need you anymore." The voice said.

Cologne stepped aside to let a familiar figure walk toward them. The shadows obscured his features until a familiar color of bright crimson hair came into the light. Followed by the red hair done in a familiar pigtail, was what the girl wore. She wore a bright red Chinese silk shirt, and black pants, but no shoes. The shadows around her face made her features a little more defined, until she finally stood next to Cologne.

She raised her head to face them. It was Ranma, but in female form, alive and good as new.

"Hey guys!" he greeted, and tears of relief appeared on each of the girl's (except Akane's. Spoiler Alert: You'll find out why later) eyes.

"Ranma!"

… … …

A/N: Well, what about that? This story is about to draw to a close, and I feel that Ranma's sudden awakening and appearance should symbolize his return to the land of the living. As for Ryu238, I have to say that I don't know anything beyond volume 28 of Ranma ½, sorry I don't know it all the way through. I just take this bit of knowledge from the few authors that do know the Ranma series really well. (Too lazy to finish the manga) I understand that in order to create an accurate fan fiction, you need to have read, or watched, a series through and through, but give me a break! Please rate, comment, and review! Thanks! Epilogue coming soon! Warning: it will have AkaneXRanma in it. Just a little present for you guys that are Akane&Ranma fans, even though I'm not. Tried my best!


	9. Epilogue

**Eternal Sleep**

**-**Chiba Hiro

(I do not own Ranma ½, or any of its content. It all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media.)

… … …

A/N: This part of the action happens while Ryoga and Mousse are battling Saffron, and after Cologne 'appears' to have been blasted to smithereens by Saffron.

… … …

**Epilogue:**

Ryoga fired off a Shi Shi Hokodan that he attempted to blast Saffron into oblivion with. He poured all of his depression and pent up emotion into this one attack. The blast he unleashed was enough to cause the very earth beneath them to crack, and Saffron was caught in its path.

"You'll pay, Saffron!" Ryoga yelled with all his might as the outline of Saffron was caught in the blast. He failed to see that Saffron completely vanished from sight!

"Not yet I won't." Saffron's voice echoed.

Suddenly he appeared in front of Ryoga, and held a baseball-sized ball of fire in the hand that did not hold the Kinjakan. He fired a rapid succession of fireballs at Ryoga, and Ryoga seemed to have enough energy left to dodge them at the same time. That last Shi Shi Hokodan was enough to drain all the ki in his reserves, leaving him dry.

He did not have enough to form another lesser blast of ki since the rapid fire balls came almost too fast, and each time he was still and concentrating, he had to focus on not being barbecued first. It was hard enough focusing all your ki into one place, and staying put, but it was almost impossible to keep focus on that concentrated energy while moving at the same time.

Such techniques like the Shi Shi Hokodan took an unbelievable amount of power and concentration to utilize. It was not made for being fired off in a moments' notice. There are three principles to the Shi Shi Hokodan. The first is distance; you had to put a large distance between you and your opponent. Second, you need a lot of focus. Lastly, you need to stay still. Sadly, Ryoga could not follow up on these principles at the moment.

"What's with all this dodging?" Saffron asked while firing another set of fireballs. "You should just stay still and it would all be over and done with already. There's no need to resist. You're simply delaying the inevitable."

"I…just…don't…wanna…get…burned!" Ryoga said while dodging the next set, only the last one succeeded in hitting its target. It took only a moment to realize that there was someone standing behind him! Ryoga turned his head to see that Cologne was behind him, and he had dodged that last fireball! It was just too fast, and the ball exploded all around her!

"Cologne!"

There was dust and smoke all around the spot where Cologne had been, and when it cleared, there was nothing but a crater and a pile of ashes left in its places. No! Cologne had been burnt to ashes before anyone could blink! Ryoga turned from the horrid sight, and the mental image of the old woman being burnt like that! Saffron!

"Why you!" Ryoga and Mousse shouted at the same time.

… … …

_'Dark…'_

_ 'It's getting dark…'_

_ 'The light is fading from this place…'_

_ 'Will I be saved…or will I be a prisoner in this darkness…forver?'_

"Ranma…"

_'Who's calling my name?'_

"Ranma?"

_'That's impossible. I'm the only one here.'_

"Ranma!"

_'Whose voice is that?'_

"Ranma! Come back to me!"

_"Akane!"_

… … …

Cologne appeared in front of Ranma in a huddle. She was not expecting to come out of that explosion alive, but here she was, and here was Ranma. Cologne peered at Ranma's sleeping form. His, or rather her, body developed a small aura. The aura was faint, but it was strong enough to be seen. Cologne had not seen this kind of magic in all her years.

"Ranma?"

Just then, Ranma's lips started moving, and she started talking, as if she was sleep talking. It was more a force of habit that Ranma started speaking, but she was clearly talking. Her voice was almost a whisper, but Cologne could hear what the redhead was trying to say.

"…It's dark." She said.

"Ranma." Cologne responded.

"…Akane…save me." Ranma whispered.

The rest of what she was saying was lowered to murmuring. She could not make out the incomprehensible sounds coming from the girl. But it was clear to Cologne that Ranma has crossed between the dreamscape. It was the effects of the Temple of Origins. The magic of the Temple was keeping Ranma alive, for now anyway.

"Don't worry, Ranma." Cologne whispered into her ear. "I'll save you…for her sake."

Cologne produced a small book from within her robes, and set down her staff. She stood at the head of Ranma's bed, and laid a hand over Ranma's forehead. Cologne developed a small aura, but not her usual blue battle aura. It was a light green one, the aura that healed and restored one back to health. As matriarch of the Amazons, she had been versed in the ways of healing magic, and was often proven to be the best healer as well as the best witch in Joketsuzoku right now.

The green aura began to envelop Ranma, and her blue aura mixed with Cologne's green aura. Under her hands, Ranma's eyes underneath her closed eyelids began to move rapidly. Ranma was getting ready to wake up. This is not like sleeping beauty where the prince kisses the princess, and releases her from her eternal sleep. The spell that Cologne used was an ancient counter-spell. It did not require the kiss of a prince, or someone that she loved. However, Ranma did need an energy transfusion. The foreign energy mixing with Ranma's own energy would be enough to dispel the effects of the deep sleep curse.

Cologne lifted her hand from Ranma, but the counter-spell was not strong enough. She simply did not have enough power to restore Ranma to her true awakening. She needed a younger source, and she knew that there was only one person that could awaken her. She needed Akane! Shampoo would not be able to do it because Cologne knew that Ranma's energy would try to reject her energy as much as he would reject her physically.

"I need Akane." Cologne whispered, and left Ranma's bedside.

… … …

Cologne appeared silently beside Akane, and Akane leaped in surprise. How did Cologne get there? Hadn't she been blasted? Akane wanted to shout in relief, but Cologne clasped a withered hand over Akane's mouth, and made a silencing gesture. Without so much attention, Cologne whisked Akane away with the vanishing technique. Throughout this whole exchange, no one had noticed Akane's sudden disappearance; they were too absorbed in the fight with Saffron.

… … …

Appearing outside Ranma's room, Cologne let Akane have time to breathe. Akane panted so hard that whatever she tried to say; it was all drowned in her heavy panting. Cologne had clasped her mouth all the way there, and of course she would be out of breath. Akane was not that surprised that Cologne survived, or narrowly escaped that blast, because the old matriarch was not the type to be caught in that type of blast. No matter how hard they had tried to defeat Cologne, they knew that it took way more than just a fireball explosion to kill her.

"What's the meaning of this?" Akane asked after her panting subsided. "You dragged me away from the fight."

"Believe me, Akane, this is much more important than some stupid fight." Cologne said, not looking at Akane. "Follow me."

Akane followed Cologne into Ranma's room. Akane froze in the doorway when she lay her eyes on the one thing that brought her the greatest joy in the world, and the greatest pain. Ranma lay still on the bed. All trace of her moving a while ago was now gone. Ranma looked almost dead now.

"No! This can't be!" Cologne exclaimed, and she and Akane rushed to Ranma's bedside.

Cologne felt Ranma's pulse, and it was getting fainter and fainter. What was worse was Ranma's temperature had dropped significantly in the last few minutes since she went to fetch Akane. Cologne knew she shouldn't have left Ranma, now all hopes of waking the pigtailed martial artist was now only a faint line of hope.

Akane dropped to her knees, and held the freezing hand of her fiancé's cursed form. Akane let all her pent up emotion go in one moment. It almost seemed like a moment ago that the redhead had been male and bursting with energy and strength, but seeing her like this made Akane's heart break slowly. Every second that passed seemed like hours to Akane, and Ranma's temperature dropped below freezing.

Akane endured it, and still kept a hold on Ranma's hand, as if she was her only lifeline in this cruel world. _You can't leave me like this! _She thought. _Jerk! You're supposed to be there for me!_

"Don't leave me, Ranma…" she whispered.

A spark in Ranma's pulse grew significantly, and it grew stronger gradually!

"That's it, Akane!" Cologne exclaimed in surprise when she noticed the effect Akane's words had on Ranma. "Keep talking to him."

"Ranma." She managed to say through choked tears.

Ranma's pulse grew stronger, and heat started to flow into the girl's body. She steadily grew warmer.

"Ranma." She repeated.

Ranma's temperature set to a normal one. Just one more push would do it!

"Ranma! Come back to me!" Akane shouted, willing her tears to stop.

Before she knew it, Ranma's aura sparked, and the redhead's body became enveloped in a golden aura. It was working! Only one more thing to do!

**"May the shadow of nightmares be lifted from her mind! Let her awaken once again, and may the spell of the phoenix be dispelled!" **Cologne chanted the spell. It just needed one more thing to awaken Ranma. "Akane, say it again with more feeling." She commanded.

"Ranma! Come back to us!" Akane shouted again.

That did the trick! All at once, the golden aura subsided, and Ranma's body floated off the bed, and stood in front of Akane and Cologne. All that needed to happen was the opening of her eyes.

Ranma's eyes fluttered, and opened slowly. Akane stood up and looked into the dazed eyes of the redhead. She was beginning to awaken! She could not believe it! Before she knew it, Ranma collapsed in the arms of Akane.

"Ranma…you've returned to me." She whispered in the redhead's ears.

"…Thank…you…Akane." Ranma said weakly, and her eyes opened wider.

"Oh, Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, and embraced the smaller girl in her arms, and cried in relief. Ranma returned the embrace.

… … …

"Let's go, Ranma." Cologne said after the two recovered from almost a half hour of holding each other.

The two just blushed, and got embarrassed after having been seen by the old matriarch the whole time.

Cologne touched Ranma's shoulder, and looked at her with understanding in her eyes. That was something that startled Ranma. Ranma had expected her to rant about Ranma and Akane being together like that. She just smiled!

"I think you two are perfect for each other." Cologne commented. "Now, Ranma, come. We must put a stop to Saffron."

"I have about two or three things to say to that jerk before we finish the job for good." Ranma said confidently, raising a fist like she would normally do.

"There's just one more thing to do." Cologne said, and grabbed a kettle of boiling water from out of nowhere. She poured the contents onto Ranma, and she transformed back into the male that was the heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts.

"Oh, yeah! I'm back!" Ranma exclaimed.

The End

… … …

A/N: Well, that's a wrap, and I presume that you know what happens next. Ranma goes to meet Saffron and the others, and all mysteries have been cleared, and everyone goes back to the way they were. Ranma and Saffron battled it out one last time, but as usual, Ranma's opponents could never withstand him in his male form. I'll see you next time when I have a new story up! It will probably be better than this one! I guarantee it! Thanks for the support, and all the feedback!


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